The Collectors
by Shonetta
Summary: Voyager is home, but startling revelations come to light. Janeway and The Doctor begin a quest for several missing crew members and Janeway becomes stranded on a mysterious world that is a lot like Earth. J/C.
1. Chapter 1

**Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures **

**The Collectors **

**Chapter One**

**2378**

In a state of the art office at Starfleet Headquarters, Kathryn Janeway sat at her desk and went through a pile of reports that were awaiting her attention. She and the crew had only returned home six weeks ago, but already she was back at work, quickly getting to grips with her new life as an Admiral. The promotion had come as a surprise, but it was not unwelcome. After seven years in the Delta Quadrant, the last thing she wanted was to jet off into the unknown again, and appreciated the opportunity working on the ground gave her to spend time with her family and to catch up with old friends. When she was not working, she was busy renovating an old Gothic style mansion she had been fortunate enough to acquire in Bloomington. It was over two hundred years old and needed a lot of work to reflect its former glory, but it was a challenge she was more than ready for. When restored, the house would have five ensuite bedrooms, two living rooms, a music room, a study, an observatory and an extensive garden. As her mother had pointed out, the house went far beyond the needs of a single person, but after seven years of having to sacrifice want for need, she was going to indulge herself without guilt. Besides, she didn't intend to live there alone. Once the house was habitable, she planned on getting herself a dog, a furry friend who would no doubt appreciate the huge garden. In the meantime, she was living alone in an apartment in San Francisco.

Just as Kathryn was about to start reading her umpteenth report, the door chime sounded.

"Come in," she called, putting down the padd in her hand.

The silver doors slid open and Tuvok came in.

"Tuvok," she said, getting to her feet. "This is a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting to see you until the autumn."

Tuvok, like so many other former members of the Voyager crew, had taken time out of Starfleet to spend with his family.

"All has not gone as expected," Tuvok announced in his usual serious Vulcan manner. "My family and I have performed several mind-melds in the hope of curing my neurological disease, but to no avail. My condition is unchanged."

Kathryn closed the gap between them, concern and pity in her eyes. "Oh Tuvok..."

"Perhaps," he surmised, "a mind-meld is only effective in certain individuals."

"I'm so sorry," Kathryn said sadly. She had hoped with all her heart that a mind-meld with a compatible Vulcan would heal him. "But you can't give up," she went on encouragingly. "This disease is still in the early stages. Now we're home, there may be a specialist in the Federation who can help."

"That is my only remaining hope," Tuvok answered. "I have an appointment with a Vulcan neurologist this afternoon, Dr Loraska. Her methods are unconventional and controversial, but she has had a lot of success in treating conditions deemed incurable by conventional medicine."

"I've heard of her," Kathryn declared. "Unconventional or not, her methods get results, and that's all that matters." She paused. "Is someone going with you?"

"I am going alone," Tuvok informed her.

"Would you like me to accompany you?"

"I would not," he answered plainly.

Kathryn tried not to smile at what would have been a rude rebuff from anyone other than a Vulcan. "Then would you like to join me for lunch?"

At that, Tuvok's tension eased and he almost smiled. "I would like that very much."

* * *

Unable to concentrate on her work, Kathryn stood at her wide office window and watched vacantly as soft spring rain fell over the city she had once thought she would never see again. It was no doubt a miracle that they had got home, even with the Admiral's help, but getting home had not been what she had always imagined it would be. To have accomplished a goal she had dedicated every part of her being to for seven years, unloading her of an overbearing burden, had brought immeasurable relief, but there was also a sense of anti-climax. The new beginnings she had dreamed of, when she had dared allow herself to dream, were an impossibility now. When they were first stranded, she had dreamed of being welcomed back by Mark's loving arms, but as her relationship with him had faded into history, and it was Chakotay she had found commanding her heart and senses, she had dreamed of a life with him... of boat trips down real rivers, of moonlight sails on the real Lake George, of picnics in rainforests, of log-cabins in snow-kissed mountains, of swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, of visiting his homeworld, of giving him a tour of her hometown, of candlelight dinners in romantic venues, of starlight kisses, of setting up a home together, perhaps even welcoming a little bundle of joy into their lives who had dark hair just like his father. But, like so many dreams she had dared to dream over the years, they had been shattered by time, leaving her with only the thought of what could have been. Chakotay was with Seven now, and as they had married in the Admiral's future, there was no reason to suppose they would not in this timeline. It hurt profoundly to think of Chakotay with anyone other than herself, but she had to accept that she had lost him. The dreams she had dared to dream of a future with him belonged now, like so many others, to yesteryear.

Suddenly a bleep sounded and the computer spoke.

"Incoming transmission, visual and audio."

Kathryn turned away from the window and looked at her monitor. "On screen."

In seconds, Admiral Maylor, her superior, appeared on the screen.

"Good afternoon, Sir," Kathryn said formally.

"I've had better," the man replied less stiffly, "and I dare say you will have had too. I must ask you to report to HQ Sanatorium immediately."

At that request, Kathryn put down the cup in her hands. "On my way."

* * *

Minutes later, Kathryn was at the Sanatorium. As soon as she arrived, Admiral Maylor greeted her and lead her to one of the Sanatorium's secure rooms.

"What's going on?" Kathryn asked, looking around the sterile room, hoping her eyes would yield some answers, but finding they did not. All she could see was a patient lying on a biobed with a brunette female Vulcan doctor close by.

"This is Dr Loraska," Admiral Maylor said, gesturing to the woman, "a specialist in Vulcan neurology."

"I've heard a lot about you," Kathryn replied. "In fact, Commander Tuvok, my former chief of..." her words trailed and her face paled as a thought occurred to her. Anxiously, she moved closer to the biobed to see the patient better, and at the sight of a familar black man, her fearful thought was confirmed. "Tuvok," she said in alarm. Quickly, her eyes scoured his body, desperately looking for any sign he was still alive, and relaxed when she saw his chest move up and down with the rhythm of life.

"As you may know, he came to see me today," Dr Loraska began, "hoping I could find a way to help his condition. While I was performing a series of intensive scans, more intense than any currently done by Federation specialists, I made a disturbing discovery." The woman paused and then spoke the unthinkable. "This is not Commander Tuvok."

At those words, Kathryn's eyes flew from Tuvok's face to the neurologist's, hardly believing her ears. "What did you say?"

"I said this is not Commander Tuvok. It is a CBR...a computerized biological replica."

Kathryn stared at the woman incredulously. "You mean... a flesh and blood hologram?"

"That''s right," the doctor replied.

"But how?" Kathryn cried, turning again to look at Tuvok. "I don't understand? How can he not be Tuvok?"

"Please, have a seat," Admiral Maylor said, concerned at Kathryn's distress.

"I'm fine standing," Kathryn answered and quickly addressed the doctor again. "Tuvok was examined many times and regularly by our doctor on Voyager, and has been examined by other doctors since we returned. If he's a CBR, why didn't any of them detect it?"

"No Federation Doctor at present uses my techniques," the woman explained. "I scan deeper and more intensely than anyone else. This is why I have so much success. I treat cellular damage that other doctors can't even detect. Conventional scans would identify this CBR as a normal humanoid, which was no doubt the intention of the designers in the first place, but my scans discovered microscopic implants in the brain too small for the naked eye to see and standard tests to reveal. Further tests revealed that these implants are responsible for cognitive processes, aswell as all other functions usually controlled by the brain."

Admiral Maylor spoke now. "Dr Loraska reported her discovery to us right away, and we sent two of our most qualified scientists to assess her findings. They fully concur with her conclusions. This is not Commander Tuvok, but a CBR. We had him transported here and Dr Loraska is going to help us perform further tests." With sadness in his eyes, the Admiral put a kind hand on Kathryn's shoulder. "I'm afraid every single member of Voyager's crew must be examined, including yourself."

"Of course," Kathryn said quietly, her head swimming in a confused daze. Could this really be happening? How could Tuvok, her friend and confidant, be no more than a bio-robot? How could it have happened? When could it have happened? Could she be a bio-robot too, the entire crew? No, she would not think it. Any moment now she would wake up and find this was nothing more than a terrible nightmare.

END OF CHAPTER ONE


	2. Chapter 2

**Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures**

**Chapter Two**

TWO DAYS LATER

Exhausted and weak from lack of sleep and nourishment, Kathryn sat in her office and ploughed through Voyager's archives in the hope of finding something that would shed light on what was going on. For two days Dr Loraska and her team of specialists had been scanning Voyager's crew members, and of the seventy members who had been examined so far, only three more had proved to be CBRs...Chakotay, Seven and Tal Celes.

Suddenly, the door chime sounded and Kathryn looked away from her monitor. "Come in".

The doors opened and Voyager's former EMH entered. "If you don't mind me saying so," he began, "you look awful."

"I don't feel so good either," Kathryn replied, rather sarcastically, "but quit the small talk. What's the latest?"

Despite the reservations of Starfleet Command, Kathryn had insisted on the Doctor being brought into what was being dealt with as a classified investigation. Tests had shown that his program had not been tampered with, and his knowledge and experience of the Delta Quadrant would be of invaluable assistance. Starfleet Command had decided not to tell Voyager's crew the truth of what was happening, only that they they were being screened for a Delta Quadrant virus, and Kathryn had been obliged to play along. All who tested negative could go home.

"Dieter Willis has tested positive," the Doctor informed her, "but no one else so far."

"I see," Kathryn said, not sure whether she should be grateful only one more had been found or alarmed that there was yet another.

"And I don't think there will be any more," the Doctor stated.

"What makes you think that?"

The Doctor stepped closer, eager to share his thoughts. "If memory serves me rightly, and the memory of a hologram serves impeccably, five months ago Seven, Tal Celes and Dieter Willis accompanied Command Tuvok and Commander Chakotay on an away mission to an abandoned planet."

At those words, a bulb lit up inside Kathryn's foggy mind. "You're right," she said, getting to her feet. "Chakotay wanted to go there to explore ancient ruins. We lost contact with them for several hours."

"Perhaps because they'd been captured by aliens. A few hours may have been all the time these aliens needed to copy them."

"It certainly all makes sense...and would explain why both Seven and Tuvok suffered medical problems in the past few months that they never had before." The light in her eyes extinguished as suddenly as it had appeared, and she turned frustratingly to the window. "Damn it, why didn't I remember that away mission? It's not like Chakotay and Tal Celes went on away missions together every week!"

"Because, as always, you're pushing yourself too hard," the Doctor told her. "You haven't eaten or slept in two days.You must rest, Admiral."

"I know," Kathryn conceded. "I just...it's all too much to take in. For months, maybe longer, Chakotay and the others have been subjected to God knows what, while we've been getting on with our lives accepting bio-robots in their place."

"Very sophisticated bio-robots," the Doctor reminded her. "You can't blame yourself for this."

"No?" Kathryn asked, turning back to him. "Then who is to blame? I was closer to Chakotay, Tuvok and Seven than anyone else on Voyager. How could I not notice they'd been replaced? How could I not tell the difference between the real McCoy and a toy?"

"None of us could tell the difference," the Doctor answered. "If you want to blame someone, blame me. I was their physician. If someone should have realized they were CBRs, it should have been me. None of this is your fault, Admiral."

"I've betrayed them," Kathryn went on. "First, by not realizing they'd been replaced, and secondly by getting the crew home without them."

"Tuvok, Seven and Chakotay were part of the reason you risked everything to get Voyager home."

"For the genuine articles," Kathryn retorted, "not for breathing computers!" She paused, wiped her tired brow with her hand. "No matter which way you look at it, I'm at least partly to blame. We wouldn't be here now if I, at some point in some future, hadn't jumped back in time on an almighty crusade to get Voyager home earlier. In that future I clearly had no more idea that those I cared most about were copy-cat machines than I did in this one. If we blame her...the Admiral...for us being home, the blame lies with me, because in some God forsaken future, I was her. If we don't blame her, because she didn't know those she was trying to save were bio-robots, the blame still lies with me for going along with her plan. Either way, the fault is mine. If she hadn't turned up, we'd still be in the Delta Quadrant, and if I hadn't listened to her, we'd still be there."

"And still ignorant of what has happened," the Doctor reasoned. "As you yourself said, it was clearly never discovered in the Admiral's future that Seven and the others had been replaced by CBRs. We only know now because Tuvok went to see Dr Loraska. In the Admiral's future, he evidently did not."

"Well," Kathryn continued, "now we know, we can do something about it."

The Doctor frowned. "How do you mean?"

"We can work on finding them."

With infinite sadness in his eyes, the Doctor reached out and put a kind hand on her shoulder. "We've lost them, Admiral."

Kathryn shook her head and shrugged him loose. "I'm not accepting that."

"You have to," the Doctor cried. "Even if they're still alive, even if we knew where they were, they're on the other side of the galaxy. There's no way we can reach them."

"So we do what?" Kathryn asked angrily. "Give up on them? Forget about them?"

"I cared about them too," the Doctor answered sincerely, "more than you know. But there's no way of helping them, Admiral. It's impossible."

"That is not a word in my vocabulary," Kathryn replied. "There's always a way when there's a will, and I have a will of iron."

"But Admiral..."

"I don't want to hear it," she interrupted. "I'm not giving up on them, Doctor. And thanks to you, I now have a lead. If they were abducted on that away mission, it's just possible that someone on Neelix's settlement will know something about the species that took them." She turned back to her desk, studied the time on her monitor, and spoke again. "Not yet ten hundred hours. I haven't missed our daily window to the Delta Quadrant. I'll see if I can catch Neelix as soon as it opens."

"I really don't think you should entertain this..."

But before the Doctor could finish, Kathryn interrupted again. "I told you, Doctor, I don't want to hear it. If you can't say anything useful, don't say anything at all."

"Admiral..."

"Good day!"

Realising he was fighting a losing battle, the Doctor gave up. "I'll be with Dr Loraska if anyone asks for me."

"Understood," Kathryn said, sitting down at her desk and beginning to work.

As she did so, the Doctor watched her in concern. For seven years he had seen her respond to a crisis this way, by going into denial and working herself to the bone, but at least then there had been some hope of deliverance. Never had any situation been as hopeless as this one. Determination and courage could win a battle, but will-power alone could not whisk them thousands of light years across the galaxy to rescue those who could, as much as he hated to think on it, be long dead. As the Doctor left the room, all he could hope was that Kathryn would see the folly of her reason and accept what had to be accepted.

* * *

"Admiral," Neelix smiled as he finally responded to a hail Kathryn had been sending him for the best part of five minutes. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you today...was just getting ready to go swimming with Brax...but I'm glad to hear from you any time."

"This isn't a social call," Kathryn said, more abruptly than she intended as precious minutes of communication time were ticking away. "I need your help."

"Glad to be of assistance in any way I can. How can I help?"

"Can you find out if anyone on your settlement knows anything about a species in nearby space who abducts members of other races and puts bio-robots in their place?"

"As a matter of fact," Neelix answered, "Cartin...that's a new friend of mine...was telling me only the other day of stories he'd heard as a boy about beings who..." Alarm filled Neelix's eyes as a thought occurred to him. "Have some of Voyager's crew been taken and replaced with bio-robots?"

"Just tell me what your friend says," Kathryn said, avoiding the question. "We're running out of time."

"They have, haven't they?" Neelix continued. "Who, how many?"

Seeing she would get no further information from him until she obliged him, Kathryn yielded. "A handful. But it's classified, understood? You must not tell anyone."

"Understood," Neelix said quietly.

"Now, please," Kathryn begged. "Tell me what your friend said."

"Not much," Neelix informed her, "just that he'd heard stories as a boy of beings who roam this region of space collecting specimens of other races and putting lookalike robots in their place. The Collectors, he called them. But it's just a story. No one has ever seen them."

"Right now, a story is as good as a fact. Try and find out all you can about these collectors."

"I will, Admiral," he answered. "And will send you..."

He never had a chance to finish his sentence as the connection terminated.

* * *

Feeling as though she was a robot herself, Kathryn stood beside Chakotay's techno-counterpart and gazed at his sleeping face. In every way he was identical to her former First Officer, from the lines on his face to the shape of his fingers. It was so hard to accept that this Chakotay, who she had been talking to only a few days ago, was nothing more than an imitation, an empty vessel. As she gazed at the image of the man who had been her rock, her harbor, her shelter, a man who she had silently loved for so long, a lump closed her throat and tears stung her eyes. But she would not cry, she would not grieve. There was every chance that Chakotay was still alive...Tuvok, Seven, and the others too. And until she knew for certain they were not, she would believe that it was only distance, and not death, that separated them.

"Uncanny how lifelike they are, isn't it?"

The voice belonged to Admiral Maylor. For a moment Kathryn made no reply, then she spoke. "What is to become of them?"

"Once we have finished studying them, which won't be for some time, they will be destroyed."

It was the answer Kathryn had expected, but the words still hurt her heart. Even though the CBRs were not real, they had seemed so real, and had been as real a member of her crew as those they imitated. "It's a shame," the Admiral continued, "as they are a marvel, but we don't know who made them or for what purpose. We can't risk the security of the Federation." He paused. "As everyone thinks, including the media, that Commander Chakotay and the others have been isolated here at the Sanatorium due to a virus, in due time we'll tell their loved ones they've died. They'll never be any the wiser."

Kathryn turned to him. "Why not tell them the truth?"

"What would be the point? It's better this way...for us and for them. There are bound to be questions about this virus, but when no civilian catches it, interest will fade. But if we inform the media that Commander Chakotay and the others were abducted by aliens and replaced with bio-robots, there's no telling what the reaction would be. Mass hysteria, unlikely, but a media frenzy, certainly. We'd also be setting ourselves up for years of people claiming to be bio-robots or know those who are. As to the families, it's kinder to let them think their loved ones came home and they got to spend some time with them before they died."

He was right, Kathryn knew he was right, but she was still not ready to accept any of this.

"Don't stay too long," the Admiral said, putting his hand on her shoulder in a farewell gesture. "Access is meant to be restricted to myself and medical personnel only."

With that, he left the room, leaving Kathryn alone with the shell of her former First Officer. When he was gone, Kathryn tentatively reached out and brushed her fingers over the robot's temple tattoo. "I won't give up, Chakotay," she said quietly, "I promise. Where ever you are, whatever it takes, I'll find you and bring you home."

END OF CHAPTER TWO


	3. Chapter 3

**_Star Trek Voyager Characters are the Property of Paramount Pictures_**

The Collectors

CHAPTER THREE

FOUR DAYS LATER

After a long hard day, Kathryn switched off her monitor, tidied her desk, and collected together everything she wanted to take home to study. It was almost twenty-one hundred hours, but she had wanted to wait until the final Voyager crew-member was tested before leaving. Everything the Doctor and Neelix had said suggested that Tuvok, Chakotay, Seven, Tal Celes and Dieter Willis would be the only CBRs found, and that had indeed proved to be the case. Dr Loraska had just informed her that the last Voyager member to be examined had tested negative. Taking immense comfort in this information, Kathryn put on her coat, picked up her briefcase, and made to leave the room. Just as she reached the doors, they opened unexpectedly and Voyager's former EMH hurried in.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's polite to knock?" Kathryn rebuked.

"I've just found out they're going to destroy the CBRs," the Doctor said in horror. "When all tests and logs are complete, they're going to destroy them."

"I am aware of that intention," Kathryn announced calmly.

The Doctor's holographic eyes widened in disbelief. "And you're going to let them? How can you, Admiral?"

"Calm down," Kathryn said, stepping closer.

"Calm down!" the Doctor cried. "How can I calm down? The CBRs are thinking, feeling, beings! How can you or anyone else even think of destroying them? It's no less than murder! Would you let them decompile me at a whim?"

"They are in no way comparable to you," Kathryn answered.

"How are they different? I, like them, physically resemble real people and I, like them, have a computerized brain. We're exactly the same."

"No, you're not," Kathryn reasoned. "You're a unique, sentient, being...they are not. Although you look like Dr Zimmerman, you're your own person. You can think for yourself and you have your own interests and talents. The CBRs are neither unique individuals or sentient beings. It's the ability to think for ourselves that makes us sentient individuals, and they have neither the ability to think for themselves or the potential to ever do so. All they can do is imitate, to the best of their programming, the behavior of those they are designed to replace. Somehow they were programmed with the memories and character attributes of Chakotay and the others and from that information database their computerized system determines how they will behave in any given situation. They can't think for themselves what to say or do, they can't even feel the emotions they display. Destroying them is no different to destroying holo-characters in a holo-program. These CBRs are simply that...computerized biological characters." Kindly, she put her hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "So you mustn't compare yourself to them, Doctor. You're infinitely greater."

"Not in everyone's mind," he said sadly.

"I know," Kathryn replied, "but more and more people are coming to see how special you are every day. And I know I speak for the entire Voyager crew when I say we would all do for you what we would do for any friend."

At this, the Doctor smiled, deeply touched at her words. "Thank you, Admiral."

* * *

Sitting up in bed, downing a mug of hot chocolate, Kathryn read over all information Neelix had sent her on _The Collectors_. It had taken him three days to gather, but he had found all kinds of information from myths and legends to several documented cases of humaniods being replaced by bio-robots. There was more information than Kathryn could ever have hoped for and it all seemed to confirm, without a doubt, that these _Collectors_ were responsible for what had happened. All the stories she had read so far were similar...groups or individuals going missing for several hours and later discovered to have been replaced by CBRs, and all recorded incidents had happened in the same region of space as the planet Chakotay and his away-team had gone to explore was located. Disappointingly, however, there was no information on _The Collectors_ themselves. No one had ever seen them or encountered them and no one knew where they lived. Some legends said they lived on a cloaked planet, others on a gigantic cloaked ship, but there was one thing all legends agreed on...that no one ever taken by _The Collectors_ was ever seen again.

"Hey doodle doo, Kathy, we meet on homeground."

Kathryn looked up from her padd to find a familiar figure sitting at the base of her bed. "Q!"

"I would say congratulations," he said, crossing his legs, "but commiserations may be more appropriate. How clumsy of you to leave Chuckles and the wuckles behind."

Kathryn lowered her padd. "Are you just here to knife the wound or is there a purpose to your visit?"

"Me, knife a wound? I'd rather scratch your back...if you'll scratch mine."

"Sorry," Kathryn replied, turning to put her mug down on a bedside table, "I'm not in the market for a date or a mate." The meaning of his words then hit her and she turned back to him. "Unless... you mean..."

"That's it," Q grinned, "use that pretty little mortal brain of yours. You help me, I help you."

"The only question is," Kathryn said guardedly, "what kind of help for what kind of help?"

At this, Q stood up. "If I was to say Chuckles and the wuckles are still alive..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Kathryn was also on her feet. "Are they still alive?"

"Say I was to say they are," Q continued, "and offered you a wormhole to the Delta Quadrant, would you be interested in..."

"You know I'm interested," Kathryn answered, cutting him short. "Just get to the catch."

"Really, Kathy," Q said, feigning offense, "You know how to boost a Q's self-esteem. What kind of Q do you think I am?"

"The same Q you've always been. Now, I'm exhausted and at the end of my patience, so quit playing games. Tell me what you want from me."

Q stepped closer and looked her up and down seductively. "I've always loved a feisty woman. Have I ever told you how stunning you..."

Kathryn fixed on him a killer stare and he backed away. "Alright, alright, I'm getting to the itsy bitsy teeny weeny details...although not so teeny weeny as baby weeny..."

"Oh no," Kathryn said, stepping away, "not that again..."

"No, no," he protested. "I mean, yes, yes, if you would, but no, no...Q, that's my Q, the other half, the beast, the fire-breathing dragon, is away for...I don't know how long for...and has left me in a pickle with Q3a and Q3b."

Kathryn frowned. "O3a and Q3b?"

"The torturous twosome...our terrible twins."

"You have twins?" Kathryn asked in surprise.

"As Q2 worked out so well," he explained, "we decided to have two in one. But they're driving me crazy, Kathy. You've got to help me. I'll even throw in an Axalinatramenarinvorkson detector."

"A what?"

"A frequency detector made by the Axalinatramenarinvorkson, a species in the Horanta Galaxy, fifty billion light years away. It detects everything you could possibly imagine." Desperate, Q got down on his knees. "Please, Kathy, I beg you..."

"Why not spare the detector and just bring Chakotay and the others home?"

"Now, now, Kathy, you're getting cheeky. A wormhole and a detector, that's my best offer."

Knowing Q as well as she did, Kathryn knew he meant it. However, there was still some room to haggle. "Make the wormhole two-way," she suggested, "and last the duration of my mission, and you have a deal." If Q kept to his word, looking after his two troublesome offspring for a while would be a small price to pay for a gateway to the Delta Quadrant.

Delighted, Q got to his feet and smacked Kathryn's lips with a kiss. "I knew I could count on you, Kathy. You won't regret this!"

He then clicked his fingers and two dark-haired babies appeared on the bed, one in a pink outfit and the other a blue.

"Q3a and Q3b, meet your Aunt Kathy," he said. "She's going to be taking care of you for a while." He then gestured to the babies in turn, beginning with the she-baby. "Kathy, meet Q3a and Q3b."

Before Kathryn could respond, Q spoke again.

"Now, I must fly. Toodle pip, Kathy. Bye bye, babies, bye bye!"

With that, he disappeared, leaving Kathryn alone with the two grinning infants.

END OF CHAPTER THREE


	4. Chapter 4

**Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures.**

CHAPTER FOUR

"No," Kathryn moaned from beneath her duvet as baby Q3b hovered above her with a flashing blue ball in his hand, "no more play."

Paying no heed to her words, the baby threw the ball at her, laughing as he did so, and then clapped his little hands in joy as the bedroom doors slid open and his sister flew into the room.

"I mean it," Kathryn whined, "no more play. I need to sleep." For three days she had been looking after Q's demanding infants, and she now understood only too well why he had dumped them on her. The terrible two seemed to have the energy of a warp core and were operating continually at maximum speed with a mischievousness that would shame the cheekiest puck. It had been over thirty hours since she had last slept, and she was absolutely exhausted.

Determined to have their minder play, the babies grabbed hold of Kathryn's duvet and lifted it off the bed. Unyielding, Kathryn buried her head under her pillow, but the babies continued to pest her. To force her attention, they turned the bedroom lights on and off and made the blinds on the windows rise up and down in thundrous thumps.

"Alright," Kathryn cried, sitting up in defeat, "one more game."

The babies laughed in triumph and clapped their hands. Then they lowered themselves with the duvet to the bed and stopped the commotion in the room. Q3b picked up his precious ball and held it out to Kathryn. With blurry eyes, Kathryn took it and threw it into the air. The ball went up slowly, gracefully, and Q3b lifted himself up to catch it. Q3a watched joyfully as her brother caught it and then waited for her turn. Just as Kathryn was about to throw the ball up for a second time, a familiar figure materialized by the bed.

"Really, Kathy," he teased, "making my children fetch like a dog..."

"Q!" Kathryn exclaimed, dropping the ball and getting to her feet. "Am I glad to see you..."

"Well, that must be a first," he smiled. "How are my little darlings?"

"A chip off the old block, that's for sure."

Q feigned a frown. "You insult me. I am of witty maturity not foolish juvenility."

"That is debatable," she answered.

Suddenly, Q3a threw the ball at Kathryn and made it circle her head.

"Sorry," Kathryn informed the infant. "Game's over. Time to go home."

At that, Baby Q3a began to scream and her brother joined her in a duet. Then a tempestuous commotion filled the room as objects whizzed around and the shutters began their familiar dance.

Kathryn turned to Q. "Your call," she said to him. "I'm done."

Q clicked his fingers and instantly his delinquent darlings disappeared. As soon as they were gone, the room fell quiet again.

"I'll let the dragon deal with them," he said, "she can breathe her fire on them for a while rather than on me."

"I don't care who breathes on who," Kathryn said, climbing back into bed. "I just want to sleep."

"Poor Kathy," Q smiled, "how would you cope with a Janeway junior?"

"Perfectly well," she replied. "Human offspring aren't half as misbehaved as the Q variety." She lay back against her pillows. "Now, before I politely ask you to leave me in peace, when will you fulfill your end of the bargain?"

Q feigned ignorance. "My end? What bargain?"

"The wormhole," Kathryn impatiently reminded him.

"Only teasing, Kathy," he jested. "My memory is impeccable. Actually, it's absolute. Absolutely impeccable. Impeccably absolutely impeccable. Or one could say..."

"Spare me the tirade," Kathryn interrupted. "When will you create the wormhole?"

"When ever you want," Q replied. "When you want it, it will be there. One wormhole, two directions. Alpha and Omega. Or perhaps I should say Alpha and Delta. Just..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he disappeared. Seconds later, he reappeared.

"The dragon," he said, "must go."

With that, he disappeared again, this time not to return.

When Kathryn was sure that he was gone, she lay her head upon her pillow, and in moments was fast asleep.

* * *

"I'm just on my way to a meeting," Admiral Lorton said to Kathryn when she arrived at his office the following afternoon. "And I'm afraid I have engagements until 18:00 hours."

"This won't take a moment, Sir," she said, determined not to be brushed aside. "It's about the CBRs."

"What about them?"

"I would like some kind of time-frame as to when they will be deactivated. I'm told you will give the authorization."

"That's right," he replied. "It all depends on how long it takes our scientists to complete their investigations, but the last estimate I was given was at least six months. I don't share Admiral Maylor's views on the danger they pose to us, so I've instructed the team to take as long as they need to examine them. I'd rather they over-examine them than not examine them fully."

"Absolutely," Kathryn replied.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm thinking of taking a few weeks leave," she replied vaguely, "perhaps longer. Perhaps months. But I'd like to be here when the CBRs are deactivated...not just because of their history, but for their families." She didn't want to tell Starfleet Command that she planned on returning to the Delta Quadrant to find the real McCoys. There was no way they would permit such a mission, even with the guarantee of Q's assistance, and if she brought up the matter with them, she was sure she would only succeed in having them monitor her actions. But, if she made this a personal mission, not a professional one, and returned with her lost commrades in due course, Starfleet would welcome them back, swear them to secrecy over the CBRs, and all would be well...providing she could ensure the CBRs would not be deactivated in her absence.

"Of course," the man replied. "And I think taking a few months leave is a good idea. After everything you've been though, you deserve some leisure time." He stepped away from his large desk. "Don't worry about the CBRs. I won't give the deactivation order until you're back...even if it's a year. I'll find some way of delaying it."

Kathryn smiled, hardly able to contain her relief. "Thank you, Sir."

* * *

Kathryn was just about to replicate a coffee in her office, when the door chime sounded. Regretfully, she turned away from the replicator and called out.

"Come in."

The doors slid open and B'Elanna marched in. Before Kathryn could greet her former Chief Engineer, the half-Klingon spoke.

"I want to know what's going on."

Kathryn averted her eyes, hating having to be secretive with a friend. "What do you mean?"

"I've been trying to get hold of you for days. I want to know what's going on with Chakotay. There was nothing wrong with him when I last talked to him, so how come he's so sick all of a sudden? And if he's really got a non-contagious Delta Quadrant virus, why can't I see him?"

"I'm sorry," Kathryn said, looking up sadly, "I'm not at liberty to talk about this."

"Which has to mean you're all hiding something. What is it? What's wrong with Chakotay? What have they done with him?"

"As I said," Kathryn replied, "I can't tell you any..."

"Can't or won't?" B'Elanna interrupted. "Damn it! Chakotay's my friend. I care about him. Whatever's going on, I deserve the truth."

"I know you do," Kathryn answered, "and if it was up to me, I'd tell you, but I've been sworn to secrecy. All I can say...all I can ask...is that you trust me."

"How about you trust me and tell me what's going on?"

"You know I can't do that. But I'm doing everything I can for Chakotay and the others. I want them back with us as much as you do. Just trust me, B'Elanna."

At the sincerity in her former Captain's eyes, B'Elanna's hostility ebbed. "If I can't trust you," she said quietly, "I can't trust anyone."

Kathryn reached out and put her hand on B'Elanna's shoulder. "I can't promise that I will succeed, but I won't give up on Chakotay and the others and I don't want you to either. Whatever I have to do, however long it takes, I'm going to do my utmost to..." she chose her words carefully..."to save them."

"I know you will," B'Elanna conceded. "And I'm sorry for my attitude, I just...I'm scared...for Chakotay."

"I understand," Kathryn replied. "I'm scared too. But where there's hope there's courage, and where there's courage there's hope. They're not lost to us yet...not ever if I succeed." She paused. "But I can't help them from here. I'm going to have to leave."

At this, B'Elanna flinched. "Leave? Where to?"

"I can't tell you. But I'm likely to be gone a while...months, perhaps." She paused. "And I'm afraid this will have to be goodbye. I'm leaving tonight."

"Tonight? Without telling any of us?"

"I'm telling you now. You can say goodbye to the others for me. Tell them I've...taken a vacation."

B'Elanna stepped away. "I don't like this, something doesn't feel right. Damn it, everything feels so wrong! Why can't you tell me what's going on? What's happened that's so bad? Is it something to do with the Borg?"

"No," Kathryn replied. "And if you try to guess, you'll drive yourself crazy. Just take it from me that everything's under control."

"Looks like I'm going to have too," B'Elanna conceded in frustration. "But I'm not happy about this...not one little bit."

"That makes two of us," Kathryn answered. "You just have to trust me."

B'Elanna took a deep calming breath, but her voice betrayed her agitation. "Just don't get whatever it is Chakotay and the others have got. You're my friend too, I don't want to lose you."

"Hopefully no one will be losing anyone," Kathryn said gently.

Tears unexpectedly filled B'Elanna's eyes and she embraced her former captain. "If anyone can save them, Admiral, you can. Just don't be gone too long. I'll miss you."

Kathryn hugged the half-Klingon in return and swallowed the lump in her throat. "I'll miss you too."

**END OF CHAPTER FOUR**


	5. Chapter 5

**Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures**

CHAPTER FIVE

"I got your message," Voyager's former EMH said as he stepped into Kathryn's apartment, "what's the emergency?"

"None of a medical kind," she answered. "At least not yet."

The Doctor frowned. "What do you mean?" Then a thought occurred to him. "Is someone in danger?"

"I'm taking a trip," Kathryn informed him, "and I'm wondering if you would like to come along."

"I'd love too," the Doctor smiled. "Where are you going?"

Kathryn was a moment in giving her answer. "To the Delta Quadrant."

The Doctor's smile faded and his eyes widened in alarm. "The Delta Quadrant?"

"To find Chakotay and the others. I'm more than willing to go alone, but they may be in need of medical assistance when I find them. Besides, there's strength in numbers and I could use the company."

"I don't like the sound of this," the Doctor began. "Just how do you plan on getting to the Delta Quadrant?"

"Q's taking care of it," Kathryn explained. "Sometimes it helps to have friends in high places."

The Doctor almost scoffed. "Q! Since when have we been able to trust that come-and-gone-zalus?"

"Since he proved to be our only hope. It's all arranged. He will create a wormhole for us when we reach deep space."

"Now I definitely don't like the sound of this," the Doctor went on. "Even if Q is true to his word, which would have to be a first, we wouldn't know where to begin looking for Chakotay and the others."

"Wrong again," Kathryn answered. "Not only do we know the course they took the day they were abducted, but we have pages of information on _The Collectors,_ courtesy of Neelix."

"Information that will be useless to us if we end up in their clutches," the Doctor reasoned.

"If you're afraid, Doctor," Kathryn said coldly, "don't come. In fact, if all you're going to do is tell me how impossible my mission is, I'd rather you didn't come. I thought you could be of help. I don't need a hindrance."

"I just don't think you've thought this through," the Doctor argued. "Apart from hearsay, we know nothing about these _Collectors._ They could be more powerful than the Borg. How can you think of challenging them alone?"

"Because if I don't go looking for Chakotay and the others, no one else will. The days when _All for one and one for all_ meant something have long gone. There's no way Starfleet Command will risk the lives of an entire crew to search for them. But I'm not giving up on them, Doctor. Maybe I won't find them, maybe I'll be taken too, but if I am, and Chakotay and the others are still alive, at least then I'll be with them. Right now I'm on the outside, not even knowing what I'm trying to look inside of, but if I'm on the inside, I can help them to get out. And if I don't, if I perish in the attempt, at least I've tried. One for all...it still means something to me."

The Doctor looked at her sadly. "Commander Chakotay wouldn't want you to risk being captured too. Neither would Commander Tuvok or Seven."

"That is irrelevant."

The Doctor sighed, giving in prematurely to what would be eventual defeat. "I'm not going to be able to change your mind, am I?"

"No," Kathryn answered firmly.

"Then looks like you've got yourself a partner," he conceded. "Count me in."

"Only if you believe we can succeed," Kathryn declared. "I don't want you with me if you believe we will fail."

"I don't know what I believe," the Doctor said truthfully. "But one thing I do know is that you've never failed at anything."

"If you want to come, meet me in Starfleet Shuttle Zone, bay sixteen, in two hours. I've got myself a dormer-ship and it's parked there."

"You want us to leave tonight?"

"That's right. Every second counts." She stepped closer. "I understand if you don't want to come, but whatever you decide, you can't tell anyone about this. As far as Starfleet Command are concerned, I'm just on leave, and I want it to stay that way."

"I understand," the Doctor assured her. "I won't say anything."

"I hope not," Kathryn answered. "Because the lives of Chakotay and the others may depend on your silence."

"You have my word," the Doctor promised. "And that I'll come."

Kathryn gave a wan smile.

"Then I guess I'll see you in two hours."

* * *

"Quite a ship," the Doctor said, gazing up at a large silver shuttle.

"The biggest of its kind," Kathryn said, opening the doors to let them in. "She has a maximum warp of 9.93, sophisticated transportation technology, eight dormer cabins, all luxury ensuite, and comes complete with a cloak."

As they stepped into the ship, the Doctor looked around. "As impressive inside as out," he said, admiring the luxurious seating, decorative dome, and gleaming consoles.

"Give yourself a tour," Kathryn said, making her way over to the helm. "I want to get us space-borne."

"Don't mind if I do," the Doctor said, curious to see the rest of the ship. He walked towards large double doors that lead to the rest of the vessel, but as he reached them, Kathryn called out.

"Doctor."

He turned to her.

"I wasn't sure if you'd really come," she said. "Thank you."

"You were right," he said sincerely. "If there's any chance we can save Chakotay and the others, we have to take it. You can count on my full support."

Kathryn smiled gratefully. "I'll be relying on it."

* * *

THE NEXT DAY

"Must you sing, Doctor?" Kathryn asked as the Doctor entered the bridge after a walk-about on the ship. "My ears, if not my head, could do with a rest."

"You like my singing," he replied.

"Yes," Kathryn answered, working her console, "and I like coffee, but all things in moderation..."

"That will be the day," the Doctor teased, "when coffee and moderation can be used in the same sentence to describe you." He sat beside her. "But point taken. One can get too much of a good thing." He tapped his fingers on the console before her and then looked around impatiently. "How much longer must we wait for Q to deliver?"

Just as he spoke his name, Q materialized beside them. "Someone say my name?"

"Q!" Kathryn said, turning to him. "I was beginning to think you'd be no-show. You said the wormhole would be there when I wanted it...well, I've wanted it a while."

"I didn't mean literally," Q said, moving closer to Kathryn. "I'm not psychic you know." The viewscreen suddenly came on line and a wormhole pulsated in the center of it. "There you are...a ticket to the Delta Quadrant."

The Doctor spoke now. "You could do more," he said indignantly. "If you wanted, you could bring Seven and the others right here, right now."

"Providing they are alive," Q said.

At this, Kathryn paled, and Q quickly spoke again.

"Just playing devil's advocate. Would I really go to all this trouble if they're not alive?"

"Then why don't you," the Doctor said before Kathryn had the chance to speak. "Why don't you click them here? Or is helping friends too much effort for you?"

"I am helping friends," Q answered. "And creating a wormhole might just look like a snap of the fingers to you, but it takes energy and..." he collapsed into a chair before them. "I'm quite exhausted."

Getting no response from his audience, he sat up again.

"Things have to be what they have to be," he said philosophically. "But there is something more I can do."

"What's that?" Kathryn asked eagerly.

Q snapped his fingers and suddenly the console in front of Kathryn lit up and bleeped.

"I've put everything you'll need to locate your friends in your database."

With nimble fingers, Kathryn worked her console to access the information he had just uploaded. "Co-ordinates," she said joyfully, "frequencies."

"Now," Q said, "don't hang around. I don't want every Tom, Dick and Harry to use that wormhole. And make sure you've got everything. As soon as you're through, it's bye-bye wormhole."

"Until we need it again," Kathryn egged.

Q nodded. "Until then." He gestured to the viewscreen. "Now...spit-spot!"

With that, he disappeared.

When he was gone, Kathryn turned to the Doctor. "It's not too late, Doctor. I can spare a shuttle if you want to head back."

"No way," the Doctor answered. "I'm in this for the long-haul. One for all..."

Kathryn smiled warmly. "Then let's do it."

Without another word, she set a course for the wormhole, and in seconds they were inside it.

END OF CHAPTER FIVE


	6. Chapter 6

_**Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures.**_

**CHAPTER SIX**

"Are we there?" the Doctor asked as soon as the wormhole dissipated into open space.

"To quote Q," Kathryn replied, "I'm not psychic. Give me a chance to determine our location." She worked the console before her and then spoke again. "We're definitely in the Delta Quadrant, I'm just trying to determine where exactly in the Delta Quadrant." Her fingers flew over an illuminated keypad. "About five light years from the co-ordinates Q gave us."

"What's at the co-ordinates?" the Doctor asked eagerly. "A planet? A ship?"

"At the moment, all I'm detecting is open-space."

"What could that mean?"

"Any number of things," Kathryn explained. "But as Q gave us frequencies, my guess is a cloaked ship or planet."

The Doctor looked at the viewscreen, trying to see something more than just white specks of light against black nothingness. "Any ships or inhabited planets in the vicinity that aren't cloaked?"

"None that I'm detecting."

"We'd better cloak ourselves," he said, suddenly feeling exposed.

"Already done," Kathryn announced. She then began to scan with the frequencies Q had given them and in seconds had made a discovery. "There's a cloaked planet," she informed the Doctor, "at the co-ordinates." As she scanned the alien world for more information, her eyes widened in surprise. "I don't believe it," she said. "The planet is enormous...almost a million times bigger than Earth." She leant forward, analyzing the upcoming data more closely. "Actually, I don't think it is a planet. I think it's an artificial world."

The Doctor moved his chair closer so he could look at the displayed diagram. "What kind of species could create something so big?"

"Clearly a very big species," Kathryn answered plainly.

"Can you detect Seven and the others?"

"I'm trying to scan for lifeforms but..." She paused as the reason for her difficulty was revealed. "Damn, the planet has a second security shield. Our sensors can't penetrate it."

There was a moment of frustrated silence, then the Doctor spoke. "Perhaps Q gave a frequency for that too."

"Good thinking," Kathryn conceded, implementing the suggestion right away. In seconds, the scan commenced. "Well done, Doctor," she smiled. "We're in."

"An endless well of useful suggestions, that's me," the Doctor beamed, his ego stroked. He then fell serious. "Any lifesigns so far?"

"Dozens," she answered, looking at the numbers rise rapidly before her..."hundreds...most of them our computer doesn't recognize"

"Seven and the others?"

"Patience, Doctor," she replied, somewhat sharper than she intended. Patient, however, was the last thing she was feeling. Her heart was in her mouth as the progress indicator moved closer and closer to completion without any sign of Chakotay and the others. But they had to be on this concealed alien world...they just had to be.

They were.

Just before the scan completed, sensors detected all requested lifesigns.

Hardly able to contain her joy, Kathryn turned to her comrade. "They're here, " she smiled. "All of them."

The Doctor smiled in return, her joy mirrored in his eyes. "There's always a way when there's a Janeway," he teased.

They looked at each other for a happy moment, then Kathryn turned away, mastering her emotions to turn overt joy to sober caution.

"Well," she replied, "our mission isn't accomplished yet. We've still got to get them out of there."

"Can we transport them?"

"Not at this distance," she informed him. "And the shields may be a problem." A frown suddenly crossed her face and she began to work the console rapidly.

"Something wrong?" the Doctor asked.

"How to get Chakotay and the others out of there might not be our only problem," she said vaguely.

The Doctor's eyes flew to the viewscreen in alarm. "Have we been detected?"

"I don't think so," Kathryn answered. "But as there could be any number of cloaked ships out there, I've set the cloaking frequency to change every second. That will give us maximum security. " Any species who could build an artificial world a million times the size of earth had to be extremely advanced. "No," she continued, "our problem is something else. It might not just be a case of how to get Chakotay and the others out of there, but which Chakotay and the others."

It took the Doctor a moment to understand her words. "You mean...there's more than one of them?"

Kathryn nodded. "If this information is correct," she went on, "our sensors have detected three Chakotay's and two Tal Celes's." Her slim fingers flew over the console again. "I'll re-scan, just to be sure."

In no time, the second scan was complete.

"Exactly the same," she announced.

"They must be CBRs," the Doctor surmised, "the extra ones."

"Most likely," Kathryn agreed. "But we have no way of distinguishing the real from the robot. If, when we're within transporter range, the shield doesn't pose too much of a problem, we're going to have to beam them all aboard and work out the McCoy from the toy when we get home." They did not have the necessary technology onboard to do so and the Doctor lacked Dr Loraska's expertise.

"What if they're all CBRs?"

"That's not a thought I'm willing to entertain," Kathryn replied. "Besides, I doubt Q would..."

The Doctor never got to hear the rest of her sentence because before she could finish it, she disappeared. Horrified, the Doctor stared at her empty seat for a long moment. Then he turned around, hoping with all his holographic heart that his program had malfunctioned for a second and he'd missed her getting to her feet. Anxiously, he called out.

"Admiral?"

But only silence answered.

Reason kicking in now, he sat at the helm and operated the console before him to the best of his ability. Preferring audio to manual navigation, he switched the control settings to voice command.

"Computer," he said, "locate Admiral Kathryn Janeway."

"Admiral Kathryn Janeway is not onboard."

"Search for her lifesign in nearby space."

"Life-sign not found."

"Search co-ordinates of Seven of Nine and all other requested lifesigns."

"No requested lifesigns found."

The Doctor swallowed and did his best to make sense of the displayed data before him. A minute ago he had seen a diagram of a gigantic world on display, but now there was only open space.

"Use all frequencies in our database to detect the world at the co-ordinates Q gave us."

"No world detected at specified co-ordinates."

The Doctor felt his heart sink. _The Collectors_ had either changed their cloaking frequency, or what he and the Admiral had believed to be a world was really a gigantic ship. They had clearly taken the Admiral and she was now as much their prisoner as Seven, Chakotay, Tuvok, Tal Celes and Dieter Willis. With Kathryn gone, he was now all alone with the fates of not five, but six, people depending entirely on him.

**END OF CHAPTER SIX**


	7. Chapter 7

Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount pictures.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Warm...soft...Those were the first thoughts that came to Kathryn's mind when she woke up from what felt like a long sleep. Stirring in the warm softness, she realized she was in a bed, covered in a luxurious white satin quilt. Sitting up, her mind and body groggy, she looked around and saw that she was in a very large bedroom. Cream walls and white furniture surrounded her and a rose-colored carpet on the floor matched pretty curtains hanging at an otherwise bare window. Everything was clean, tidy, almost new looking, and a sweet smell of roses perfumed the air. For a long moment, Kathryn was totally unaware of who she was or how she had got here, but then her brain engaged and everything came back to her. She remembered sitting next to the Doctor on her shuttle, trying to locate her missing comrades, and then...and then she had woken up here. What had happened in between was a complete blank. But, given the nature of her mission, she could guess. _The Collectors_ had detected her shuttle, and she and the Doctor had been captured. After being subjected to some kind of bio-metric examination, they had put her in this luxurious prison to wake up.

All senses at full-alert now, Kathryn got out of the bed, quickly registered the white nightdress she was wearing, and hurried to the only door in the room. It was not automated, so she pulled it open by the handle, and then barged into the room beyond, ready for whatever confrontation met her. But all that met her was an empty living room.

"Where are you?" Kathryn cried, looking up and around. "Who are you?"

Only silence answered.

"Show yourselves! Tell me why I'm here and what you've done with my people!"

Silence.

"You can't do this," she continued. "You have no right to keep me and my people prisoner!"

Silence.

"Talk to me! Someone!"

Silence.

Realizing she was not going to get any answers here, Kathryn made her way to the next door she saw, pulled it open, and stepped through the doorway. But, when she stepped into the unknown, she found herself alone in a gleaming bathroom with a rose-colored suite. Turning around, she headed to the next door, only to find herself in a very old-fashioned looking oak kitchen. After another door had led her to a spacious dining room, another to a small bedroom, she finally found herself on what seemed to be an oval hallway decked with a balcony. A sea of pine doors graced long cream walls around her, and above her was a sparkling glass dome through which she could see a blue sky with white clouds. At each crescent of the oval hallway were two glass escalators, one going down and the other terminating as it came up, and the balcony itself was made of beautiful crystal glass that was exquisitely carved. The hallway was completely empty, though, not one person in sight, no sign of life. Kathryn walked over to the balcony and looked over, hoping to see signs of life below, and gasped at what she saw. There was floor after floor after floor below her, extending so far she could not see the ground. The view made her dizzy so she stepped back, took a breath, and turned to the sea of doors around her. Unless she was completely alone in this building, there had to be someone who could tell her what was going on.

Just as Kathryn was about to walk over to a nearby door, she heard one open to her left and she span to face it. As she did so, an old black human man with a gray beard emerged from inside, a blue jacket over rainbow pants and a silver bag in his hand. Before he had a chance to close the door, Kathryn pounced on him.

"I want to know what's going on."

The man sighed as he gave her a quick look up and down. "You're new here."

"Where are my people?"

"They could be anywhere, lady," he replied. "As to where you are, you're in your new home. No one ever escapes this place."

"And what is this place? Where are we?"

"New Earth. To be precise, New Los Angeles on New Earth."

New Earth, the name evoked memories, special memories, of a planet where she and Chakotay had enjoyed an all too brief idyllic existence.

"Who is keeping us here?" she asked, swallowing nostalgia. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," he answered. "No one knows, at least no one I've ever met and I've been here sixty years. No one has ever seen them."

"Then what are we here for? What do they want with us?"

"I don't know that either. We're just here."

"But they must want us for something."

The old man shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I don't know anything."

"What have they expected of you?"

"Nothing," he replied. "Nothing, except to live. And that's what I've done. At first I thought this was some kind of after-life, but I was a young man of twenty four when I woke up here, I'm old now. I wouldn't age if I was dead, though there are some here who say we died and this is our second chance...a New Earth to redeem ourselves before a final judgment. But I don't believe it. I think I was taken."

"What's the last thing you remember...before you woke up here?"

"Being in a shuttle with my brother. We flew into a storm over Zora Prime and were forced to crashland. I can remember hitting the ground but nothing after that."

"You weren't in the Delta Quadrant?" Zora Prime was in the Alpha Quadrant. If he was taken from there, _The Collectors_ evidently took people from all over the galaxy.

The man almost laughed. "The Delta Quadrant? No indeed, Ma'am." His laugher then sobered as a thought occurred to him. "Is that where you were taken? My, my, technology advances at warp."

"Your brother," Kathryn asked, "is he here?"

"He was, but he died three years ago. Took me months to find him, mind you. Not that I was looking as I thought I was dead and he had survived. But then one day I went to market and saw him there. There's a market every day. Things are somewhat behind the times here...you'll find very behind the times if the Federation can fly to the Delta Quadrant now. There's no replicators, no transporters. There's good medical care, though, hardly anyone ever gets sick and no one dies under eighty...well, hardly anyone. It's been known, the ticker can give way without warning. And, of course, there's those that kill themselves or kill someone else, but even most of them are revived. There was some kind of alien plague eight years ago, and a lot of people got sick and died then, but in all the years I've been here, that was the only time something like that happened."

Kathryn went over to the balcony and looked down. "Where do the stairs go? Do our abductors let us out of this building?"

"No one let's us do anything," the old man said, "because no one's our master. We please ourselves. Well, as much as anyone can please themselves in any place of civilization. The stairs lead to the ground and the ground leads to the city. New..."

"Los Angeles," Kathryn said, looking up and around, absorbing every detail of this alien world, "you told me."

"It's a fine city, lady," he continued. "Very like the original, so I'm told. About three hundred years old, maybe more."

Kathryn's eyes flew to his face. "You mean...this world has been here for three hundred years?"

"Centuries," he answered.

"How many people live here?"

"Millions, I don't know. Some have been taken, some have been born here. Not many are taken now, in fact, you're the first in a long time. Most are born here." The old man joined her at the balcony. "You'll get used to it here, lady. It's not a bad place to live. I've had a good life here."

"Well," Kathryn said plainly, "I don't intend to spend mine here. There's got to be some way of getting out."

The man looked at her sadly. "I've seen people waste the best years of their lives trying to plan an escape, only to fail. The sooner you accept that this is your home now, the sooner you'll be happy."

"I won't accept it," Kathryn said firmly "I can't."

"Then you'll be the source of your own misery. Trust me, I've seen it too many times."

"They're watching," Kathryn went on, looking up, "The Collectors. They have to be." If they had created an artificial world for their prisoners, and didn't interact with their captives, that could only mean one thing...that this world was some kind of living museum and they were watching. "And if they're watching," Kathryn continued, "if they're listening to us, then their attention can be got."

"You're not the first to think that, lady," he said, "and I dare say you won't be the last. But no one ever got their attention. If those who brought us here are watching, and well they might be, they never intervene...not directly, anyway. They might in other ways, I don't know." He paused. "Like I say, make a life for yourself here, and be happy. Forget what could have been, forget how you got here, and just make the best of things."

"I can't," Kathryn said again. "I can't accept there's nothing that can be done."

"Then think what can be done...what you can make of this new life. Don't think about what you've lost, but what is waiting for you in the future. We have everything we need here. We have freedom, even if it's freedom in captivity, and whatever the reason those who brought us here are keeping us here, they do their best to keep us alive. Things could be a lot worse, no doubt are a lot worse for millions of people. There's no suffering here, except the suffering that people bring on themselves. Remember the bard... as flies to wanton boys are we to the gods, they kill us for their sport. Those who brought us here must have the power of gods to our humbleness, but they don't kill us for sport, they keep us alive. One must be thankful for small mercies."

Kathryn made no reply. If he could find it in his heart to be thankful, she could not. If it were not for _The Collectors, _she and her comrades would be home now, home on the real Earth, the Earth they had strived so hard to reach, the Earth of the Alpha Quadrant.

"It's all a lot to take in, I know, " the man sympathized, "but you'll get used to things, I know you will. And anything you want to know, just ask me. I know everything there is to know about this neck of the woods, and I can introduce you to some people. Most people here are real decent, friendly folk." He paused. "I'm just on my way to the market, but my wife's inside and I'm sure will be happy to help you settle into your apartment. You'll find everything you need there...clothes, food, money...they still have money here. My daughter can show you where you get replenishments when she finishes work...she's a teacher and about your age. You'll be given everything you need until you get a job. That's the way it is."

Again Kathryn said nothing, just stared over the balcony to the steep stairs descending to the unknown and tried to fight back the feelings of despair that were consuming her. Never had she felt as helpless, never had things seemed as hopeless. Even when she and Chakotay were trapped on their New Earth, they were prisoners only of a virus, not a powerful species who could travel the galaxy and build gigantic worlds for their education or amusement.

"I'll get my wife, " the old man said, trying to be helpful, "I'm sure you'll both..."

"No," Kathryn interrupted, turning to him. "I can find my own way around. Besides, there are people I must find."

The man opened his mouth to speak, but then thought the better of it. He knew from experience that some new-comers just had to learn the hard way. "As you wish," he said. "You know where we are if you need us."

With that, he locked his door, walked towards the moving stairs and stepped onto them. Kathryn watched as he descended lower and lower until he was so small she could see him no more. She then looked up from the depths to the high glass dome above. Somewhere in this world, somewhere under this generated sky, was Chakotay, Tuvok, Seven, the Doctor, Tal Celes and Dieter Willis. No matter how far she had to go, no matter what she had to do, she would find them. And when she found them, somehow, someway, she would find a way of freeing them.

END OF CHAPTER SEVEN


	8. Chapter 8

Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Sitting at the shuttle's helm, stunned and afraid, the Doctor gazed helplessly at the viewscreen, totally at a loss what to do. It had only been minutes since the Admiral had been taken, yet it felt like an eternity. Suddenly, a familiar voice cut through the silence.

"I hope you remember what I was just about to do because I've clean forgot."

The voice was Kathryn's and the Doctor span to face her. She was standing behind him, looking exactly as she had only minutes earlier.

"Admiral!"

"What's the matter?" Kathryn asked at the shocked look on his face. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"You were gone," the Doctor said, getting to his feet. "They took you."

Kathryn frowned in confusion. "Who?"

"_The Collectors_. You were here and then you were gone. And now you're here again."

Not believing him, or not wanting too, Kathryn sat at the helm. "Your program must be malfunctioning."

"There's nothing wrong with me," the Doctor said, sitting beside her in agitation. "I'm telling you, you were taken."

Kathryn changed to manual control and began to work the console. "I'm running a remote test on your program. " His program hadn't been loaded into the ship's computer so was existing independently in his mobile emittor. "Unless I'm suffering from amnesia," she continued, "I haven't been anywhere."

"And well you might be," the Doctor replied. "After all, you couldn't remember what you were doing just now. That's not like you."

"We all have our moments, Doctor," she answered, analyzing data that came up on a screen before her. As she absorbed it, she stilled momentarily, and then began to work again. "There doesn't appear to be anything wrong, but I'll run a more thorough scan."

"Don't waste your time on me," the Doctor argued. "Check sensors. You'll see that the world we detected is gone."

Kathryn looked up at him. "I don't remember detecting any world."

"And we detected Seven, Chakotay and the others," the Doctor reminded her. "We were just discussing how to rescue them when you disappeared."

Uneasiness growing, Kathryn turned back to the console and checked recent activity. There was no record of having detected a world or their missing comrades. "There's no record of any such detection," she said.

"But we did detect them, Admiral," the Doctor went on, "using the co-ordinates and frequencies Q gave us."

Kathryn quickly scanned local space with the data Q had given them, but found nothing. "There's no world at those co-ordinates."

"Which is exactly what I've just told you. We found it, found our friends on it, but now it's gone."

A light flashed on Kathryn's console and a sound beeped. The computer had finished scanning The Doctor's program.

"That's strange," she said, analyzing the results, "your program is exactly ten minutes, thirty five seconds, ahead of the ship's computer."

"Which is about as long as we've been in the Delta Quadrant," the Doctor announced.

Kathryn pondered this information, her reason forcing her to a conclusion her heart was reluctant to accept. "Then you might be right," she conceded. "If _The Collectors_ took me, and then returned me, they may have wiped from my memory, and the computer's, the past ten minutes at the same time. As your program is not integrated into the shuttle's system, they may not have detected you. They may have thought I was alone."

"It would certainly make sense," the Doctor answered. "And would explain why they didn't take me too."

"There's one way to be sure," she said, getting to her feet. "I have an old fashioned watch in my cabin that Chakotay once gave me. It's mechanical, not electrical, so won't have been affected by any memory wipe. I'll go and get it."

In less than a minute, she was back with a gleaming pocket watch in her hand. "Quarter to eleven," she said, holding up the watch for the Doctor to see. "Ten minutes or so ahead of the computer. This can only mean one thing...that our computer, and it would seem me, have been tampered with."

"I'm glad that's been established," the Doctor said, making plain his relief. He then bit his holographic lip, kicking himself at his insensitivity. "Not that I'm glad you were taken, I just..."

"It's alright," Kathryn interrupted. "I know what you meant."

Her mind churning, Kathryn sat at her usual seat and tenderly ran her fingers over the watch Chakotay had given her, the connection between her fingers and the precious object soothing her. Whenever she held the watch, she felt as though Chakotay was with her, beside her, and that thought always gave her strength in her weakest moments. As she touched the watch, her mind wandered back to the day he had given it to her, a day that was so vivid in her mind that it could have happened only yesteday. Amongst the golden glow of candles and the silver light of stars, they had dined on a sleepy yacht, the gentle water of Lake George lapping around them, and soft music caressing the air. The occasion had been her birthday, and the watch a gift. It had been given with love, and every night before going to bed she would wind it, almost as though the clock was his heart and the tick its beat: if the clock stopped, the heart of his love, so would his affection.

"I suppose the question now," the Doctor said, sitting beside her, "is what we do next. There's no way we can rescue Seven and the others if we can't detect them."

"They must have changed their frequencies," Kathryn said, breaking from a sweet past to the bitterness of the present. "I can't imagine they've moved the planet."

"It was an artificial world," the Doctor informed her. "At least that was your opinion. A world a million times bigger than Earth."

Kathryn looked up at him. "Really?"

"And there were hundreds of species, most of them unknown to our computer."

Kathryn fastened her watch to her waist. "And you say Chakotay and the others were definitely there?"

"Yes, in fact there were three Chakotay's and two Tal Celes's."

Kathryn raised an eyebrow. "Three Chakotay's?"

The Doctor nodded. "Two of them must be CBRs." No sooner had he spoken the words when his eyes widened as large as saucers. "The CBRs..." he said in panic. "When the others were taken, CBRs were put in their place."

The horror on the Doctor's face was momentarily mirrored on Kathryn's at the implication of that, but then she mastered the emotion. "I'm not entertaining that thought," she said bravely. "As far as I'm aware, I am myself, and until it's confirmed otherwise, and you don't have the means to confirm it, only Dr Loraska, myself I am." She looked at the Doctor firmly. "And I don't want you to dwell on the possibility either. Understood?"

The Doctor was a moment in answering. "Understood."

"As to what we're going to do," Kathryn continued. "We're going to get the hell out of here."

The words took the Doctor by surprise. "Admiral?"

"_The Collectors_ are clearly able to detect us, despite our cloak, and that means we're completely at their mercy. No doubt they let me go, and tampered with mine and the computer's memory, so I'd have no recollection of detecting them. All the frequencies and co-ordinates in our database are now useless, so no doubt they're hoping I'll go on my merry way, never to bother them again." She paused. "And that's precisely what we're going to do...leave. Q has left us a lot of data and we're going to need time to go through it and come up with a plan. We can't do that safely here. Neelix's settlement is only three weeks away. We should be safe there."

"Sounds like a good plan," the Doctor agreed. "Besides," he teased, "if after the sail we're left adrift with no anchor, we can always call on your old friend Q."

"Let's not look on the dark side," Kathryn teased in return. "We're not in such dire straits yet that we need such a desperate lifeline." She then turned back to the helm and worked the console. "Ok, let's get this show on the road." She switched back to audio control and then reclined in her chair. "Computer, set a course for the specified co-ordinates and engage, maximum warp."

Almost immediately the engines powered up, and in seconds they were on their way.

END OF CHAPTER EIGHT


	9. Chapter 9

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER NINE

A WEEK LATER

The market place was quiet as Kathryn walked through it on her way to a pizza stall. She had spent yet another futile day looking for her missing comrades and was too tired and dejected to cook. The market was on the twentieth floor of her apartment block, fifty floors below her own, and sold all kinds of goods from hair-curlers to birthday cards. There were also a couple of restaurants and cafes, a hair-salon, and a pharmacy. For the past week, Kathryn had searched every floor of the building, many more than once, in the hope of finding her comrades, but to no avail. She had also searched the nearby neighborhood, aswell as the beach, but had found no one.

Just as Kathryn joined a long queue at the pizza stall, a voiced called out to her.

"Captain? Captain Janeway?"

Kathryn span around and saw a familiar young blonde man approach. It was Dieter Willis.

"It is," he said as he reached her. "It's really you."

Kathryn could hardly contain her joy and almost hugged the young man in delight. "Lieutenant Willis," she smiled. "How glad I am to see you!"

"We wondered if you were all here," he said. "Celes and I. But we didn't think you were...just us...the away-team."

"Do you know where they are?" Kathryn asked hopefully. "Commander Chakotay, Tuvok and Seven?"

"No," he replied sadly. "Only Celes."

His words were disappointing, but not unexpected. Kathryn opened her mouth to question him further but was distracted by an impatient man who wanted to join the queue. "Are you in the queue or what, woman?" the man bellowed.

"Nevermind the pizza, Captain," Dieter said. "Come and have dinner with us."

The impatient man stepped closer. "I asked you a question, woman. Are you in the queue or just in the way?"

"Just in the way," Kathryn said, turning to him and fixing on him a death glare. "I just stand at the end of queues for my amusement."

The man was subdued by her response and Kathryn drew away with Dieter. "Invitation accepted," she said gratefully. "Thank you."

Dieter smiled. "You're very welcome." He then gestured towards an elevator in the elevator aisle. "That's ours. But if you'd prefer we can take the stairs."

"The lift is just fine," Kathryn smiled.

"We're apartment 1123," Dieter went on as they walked. "So it's only three floors up."

"I take it 'we' is you and Celes?"

Dieter blushed a little. "Yes."

"And would I be right in thinking that you are, as Mr Paris would say, an item?"

"We are," he informed her, rather uncomfortably. "In fact, we're more than that. We're married."

"I see," Kathryn replied, surprised and a little unsettled at this news. What if this Celes was a CBR?

"We were dating on Voyager," he revealed, "but didn't tell anyone. We wanted to keep things between us and..."

Kathryn finished the sentence for him. "On Voyager the news would have flown around the ship at warp speed?"

Dieter nodded. "We found each other here almost straight away. Celes was only a couple of doors away from me and we bumped into each other while trying to figure out where we were. At first we lived in the apartments we were allocated, but when the weeks went by and no one came to rescue us, we figured we were stuck here and should make the most of it. We got married and Celes moved into my apartment."

Kathryn said nothing, not really not sure what she could say. If this Tal Celes was a CBR, 'Congratulations' was hardly appropriate.

"This is it," Dieter said, stopping at the lift. "And we're in luck, it's available." Every apartment had a lift allocated to it that served all apartments directly below and above. The lift only stopped at the market-place and ground-floor, but was a lot quicker than the escalators. Kathryn had only used her allocated lift a couple of times, though. She preferred to use the stairs so she could scour ever floor as she passed them for familiar faces. Dieter pressed a button and in seconds the lift doors slid open. Kathryn followed Dieter inside and watched as he put his key-ring-fob into a slot. Almost instantly, a green light flashed above the door and the lift began to move.

"Who else have you met up with from Voyager?" Dieter asked as they ascended to their destination. "If you're here, I take it everyone else is too."

"As it happens no," Kathryn answered. It's just you, me, the Doctor and your away-team. It's a long story."

Before Dieter could question her, the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

"Looks like we're here," Kathryn said, gesturing for him to exit.

Dieter did as she bid and Kathryn followed, stepping from a cold silver box into very cozy living room. Unlike the living room of her apartment, which was impersonal and bare, this one was homely and inviting. There were books scattered around, ornaments, flowers, and a delicious smell of fresh bread and casserole perfumed the air.

"Celes is probably in the kitchen," Dieter said, "as she's cooking tonight." He walked further into the room and then called out. "Celes! There's someone here to see you."

In seconds, a door opened and Celes appeared. Her eyes lit up in joyfull surprise when she saw her former Captain standing before her. "Captain!"

"Hello, Tal Celes," Kathryn said less formally.

"I've invited the Captain to dinner," Dieter informed his wife. "I found her in the market, getting a pizza."

"And getting harassed by some dreadful man," Kathryn added "But I don't want to intrude. Don't go to any trouble on my behalf."

"Oh, it's no trouble," Celes insisted. "No trouble at all. I just hope you like my cooking. I've made casserole, rice and bread, but I left the bread in the oven too long so it's gone kind of brown and hard."

Kathryn laughed. "I know the feeling."

Celes smiled happily. "It's so good to see you, Captain. I didn't think I was ever going to see you again or Voyager. This place is nice, but we'd still rather get home. Have you come for us?"

"That was my intention," Kathryn explained, "but things haven't quite gone to plan. I'm afraid I have a lot to tell you, some good, some bad." She paused. "But let's leave my story until after dinner. I'd like to know what you've been up to over the past five months...apart from getting married."

The joy in Celes's eyes faded. "That is ok, isn't it, Captain? I mean, I know B'Elanna Torres and Tom Paris are married, but they're senior officers and..."

"It's perfectly ok," Kathryn answered, hoping with all her heart that this was the real Tal Celes. "Marriage isn't a rank privilege."

Celes smiled again and then gestured to the open door. "Come through to the dining room, Captain. Dinner is almost ready."

Kathryn walked towards the door. "I hope it tastes as good as it smells," she teased. "And the bread isn't too hard on my teeth."

Celes laughed heartedly. "So do I, Captain, so do I."

* * *

When the meal was over, Kathryn sat with her hosts in their living room and told them everything that had happened over the past few months.

"I don't believe it," Celes said, her face pale, "we were all replaced with robots?"

"That's right," Kathryn answered. "If I'd have known, I'd never have gone along with the Admiral's plan to get us home, but these robots were so sophisticated that we never even suspected." She paused. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Captain," Celes replied. "I mean Admiral. How could you have known it?"

"I feel I should have," Kathryn confessed. "The signs were there but I just didn't notice them. Tuvok, Chakotay, Seven...they've all been 'different' the past few months. I just put it down to this or that, but I should have suspected there was something wrong."

"It's always easy to say what we should have done after an event," Dieter told her. "It's not so easy during it."

"True," Kathryn conceded. She then looked up at Celes, sadness and sympathy in her eyes. "There's something else I have to tell you," she said cautiously. "When the Doctor and I scanned this world, we didn't just detect you with the others, we detected two of you."

Celes frowned in confusion, then her eyes widened as Kathryn's meaning sank in. "You mean...you detected _two_ of _me_?"

"That's right. I'm sorry."

Frightened tears welled in Celes's eyes and Dieter took her trembling hand in his.

"But that doesn't mean I'm the robot, does it?" Celes asked.

"No," Kathryn answered. "And as you were placed so close to Dieter, my guess is you're the real McCoy. But I had to tell you both."

"Of course," Dieter replied, his face as pale as Celes's. "Thank you."

"And until it's confirmed otherwise, you must think of yourself as the real you."

"Was it just me?" Celes asked. "Am I the only one there's two of?"

"No," Kathryn informed her. "We detected three Chakotay's."

That news seemed to comfort her a little. "Then I'm not alone...if I am one of these CBRs?"

"No," Kathryn answered.

"I don't think it matters," Dieter said. "Because, with all due respect, Admiral, I don't think we're ever going to be able to escape this world. From what I've been told, no one ever has, and no one ever will. I don't care if Celes...this Celes... is a CBR. She's my wife and I love her."

"I'm aware of what rumor says about the futility of escape plans," Kathryn argued, "but listening to rumor can be a death knell. People are told they won't escape, so they don't try to escape. Well, not me. Somehow, I'm going to get us out of here."

"We've been here months," Dieter continued, "and in all that time I've never seen another Celes. Neither have I seen any Chakotay or Seven of Nine. This New Earth is as big as the real Earth, and without our technology, how can we hope of finding them all? It could take years to find just one."

"With the three of us looking, we'll triple our chances," Kathryn reasoned. "I've only looked locally for the past week as I thought everyone might be in this building, but if you've been here all this time and haven't seen the others, they must be further afield. If Chakotay is free to do as he pleases, I've got an idea where he might have gone."

"We'll help in anyway we can," Dieter said, "but I really don't think we have much hope of escape."

"Then we'll have to agree to disagree," Kathryn concluded.

Celes spoke now. "If you think it's possible, Capt...Admiral, then I do too."

Kathryn gave a grateful smile. "Thank you, Celes." She then got to her feet. "Well, it's getting late and I'm sure you're both tired. I certainly am. And if I'm going to take a trip tomorrow, I need my beauty sleep."

"Tomorrow?" Celes asked, getting to her feet. "To find Chakotay?"

Kathryn nodded. "No time to waste."

"Where do you think he could be?"

"The Emerald Coast," Kathryn answered. This New Earth was not only as big as Earth, but was an exact geographical replica. "It's his favorite place."

"You'll have to take what they call an airplane," Dieter told her. "There's no transporters."

"No doubt an experience to look forward too," Kathryn replied. She then turned back to Celes. "I don't know where I'll stay yet, wherever has a vacant room on arrival, but I'll let you know."

"I hope you find him," Celes said sincerely. "I mean the real one...or all of him." She then looked at Kathryn affectionately. "Thank you for coming back for us. I know you probably came back for Commander Chakotay and Commander Tuvok more than for us, but thank you just the same. "

Kathryn reached out and put her hand on the young girl's shoulder. "For you just as much as them. You're no less special." Tears filled Celes's eyes and Kathryn squeezed her shoulder. "All for one and one for all."

A tear ran down Celes's cheek. "We were so lucky to have you as our captain."

Kathryn shook her head. "No, I was the lucky one to have such a fine crew. A captain's job is to serve and I'm so proud to have served every single one of you." She paused. "When I destroyed the array and stranded us in this quadrant, I vowed then that I'd get my crew home, no matter how hard things got or what I had to do. And my mission isn't over yet. Somehow, someway, I'll get us home."

END OF CHAPTER NINE.


	10. Chapter 10

Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures.

CHAPTER TEN

NINE DAYS LATER

Beneath a beautiful sunset sky, Kathryn walked on a glorious beach of crystal white sand and frothy waves. A soft southern breeze blew, relieving the heat of the dying day, and Kathryn walked slowly along the water's edge. The splendor, the tranquility, should have been enough to soothe the deepest of sorrows, but Kathryn's mood was melancholy. For days she had searched the Emerald Coast, moving from city to city, hotel to hotel, in the hope of finding Chakotay, but had not managed to do so. She had always known it was a long shot, the Emerald Coast was hardly Brighton Pier, but as she hadn't been able to find him anywhere in New L.A., she had thought it was worth a try. He had told her many times how much he loved the Emerald Coast, how much he loved to swim in the Gulf of Mexico and to run along sandy beaches. It was the first place he wanted to go when they got home, to a place he had called Eldorma, but that place did not exist on this world and she had no idea where it should be located. If only she had asked Chakotay more about it. Trying to find it then would not be like trying to find a needle in a very big haystack.

In the distance, a group of surfers danced over waves with their boards, and Kathryn stopped walking to look at them. It was hard to believe that everything around her was artificial. Everything seemed so real, felt so real, smelt so real. What was it all? Manipulated matter or a holographic illusion? There was just no way of telling. During her career in Starfleet she had seen many strange things, experienced many strange anomalies, met many strange beings, but this world was the strangest, most bizarre, circumstance she had ever found herself in. Just what was the point of it all? Was this world really just created for a bigger species to look at them as humans looked at fishes in glass bowls? Was it really just some kind of educational sight-seeing stop or was there something more sinister going on? How could she tell? How could she find out? Was there a way of finding out? The more time she spent alone on this world without any of the technological gadgets she had become accustomed too, the harder it was to keep believing there was something that could be done. Maybe Jacob, the old man who lived in the apartment next to hers, was right. Maybe Dieter was right. Maybe it was futile to fight for freedom against a species so big and advanced that they wielded the power of a god. _As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods_...Jacob's echo of the bard came back to her. Is that all humans were to this species...the equivalent of flies? And even if they were so big that they could hold a thousand humans in their hand, did that make human hopes and dreams insignificant? As Kathryn considered the question, she concluded she would treat flies better in the future.

After watching the surfers for a while, Kathryn began to walk back to her hotel. The sun was almost over the horizon and it was getting harder to see. It would soon be dark and the closure of yet another day without finding Chakotay depressed her. Tomorrow she would take another bus to another hotel in another city, but sooner or later she was going to have to return to New Los Angeles. While the hotels were not expensive and the buses were cheap, she didn't have a lot of money. Neither could she get more without getting a job or returning to the Welfare Office in New L.A. Dieter and Celes had both enrolled in a two year funded college program that would give them a teacher's certificate in science, but Kathryn didn't want any commitments. How could she hold down a job and try to find and liberate her people? If she had to, she would enroll on a college program too, something that would give her plenty of time for extracurricular activities, but she hoped that she could ward off the shackles of commitment for as long as possible.

As she walked, a large silky black dog ran up to her, wagging his tail in a friendly greeting. Being the dog-lover that she was, Kathryn bent over and tickled the dog under his ear, much to the animal's delight.

"Hello there, big guy," she said. "Having an evening stroll?"

The dog was with an elderly couple and they stopped to talk.

"He's a real softie," the old man said. "You wouldn't tell by looking at him, but he definitely is."

"He's adorable," Kathryn smiled. "What's his name?"

"Rover," the lady answered. "Rover the pushover."

The dog looked up at Kathryn with big brown eyes and she thought of another dog, in another time.

"Reminds me of a dog I had once," she said, the memory evoking both joy and sadness. "Petunia. Boy, was she a handful."

The old man questioned. "You on holiday here?"

"Just passing through," Kathryn announced.

"I thought I hadn't seen you in these parts before," the man surmised.

Kathryn turned her attention away from the dog to the couple. "Are you from these parts?"

"We are," the woman informed her. "We live just off the beach."

"Then maybe you can help me," Kathryn suggested. "I'm looking for an old friend who might live around here. His name is Chakotay and he's Native American. He's tall, handsome, and and has a tribal tattoo on his left temple. Have you seen him?"

"I can't say I have," the woman replied. "Charles?"

"No," he answered. "But if we see him, do you want us to pass on a message?"

"If you could," Kathryn said gratefully. She had asked many people in many places if they had seen him, and if they offered to pass on a message, she always gave the same one. "Tell him to contact Kathryn Janeway at Sky-Rider Apartments in New Los Angeles." It was unlikely they would see him, but the more eyes looking for him, the better the chances of success.

"We will," the old man said sincerely. He then patted his dog's back. "Come on, Rover, let's get going."

The dog began to walk and the couple smiled a farewell. "Enjoy the rest of your stay," the old lady said.

"Thank you," Kathryn replied.

With that, the couple were on their way. Kathryn resumed her walk along the shore and noticed for the first time how empty the beach was. Apart from the old couple walking their dog, the surfers, and some evening runners scattered here and there, the beach was deserted. She fixed her eyes on a pair of oncoming runners and watched as they got bigger and bigger as they came into view. Their outline told her they were male, and they had a solid rhythm as they ran through the shallow waves of the incoming tide. The nearer they got, the more characteristics she could see, and she noted that one of them was fair and broad, reminding her of a tiger, and the other tall and dark, reminding her of a panther. When they got closer still, she could see their faces, and Kathryn's whole being froze when she saw on the tallest man's countenance a familiar face. It was a face she had seen a million times in her dreams, a face she had loved with her all her heart and soul.

It was Justin's face.

Her Justin's face.

By the time Kathryn's stunned senses had come back to life, the two men were behind her. Kathryn span around, her heart pounding, but already the two men were just a silhouette in the shadow of a fading sun.

END OF CHAPTER TEN


	11. Chapter 11

Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The following evening, the beach was wet and windy, but Kathryn's only concern as she walked on the soaking shore was that the rain would keep the runners away. After seeing a living, breathing, vision of Justin, she had abandoned all thought of leaving and had returned to the beach in the hope of seeing the runner again. She needed to know that it wasn't Justin, needed to confirm that the experience had only been a trick of the light. How could Justin be on this world? He had drowned with her father on an icy-planet almost twenty years ago. She herself had watched him die...watched as he sank with her father beneath the surface of a frozen lake. She told herself that seeing a dog that reminded her of Petunia had awoken old memories, making her see the face of a man she had once loved in a stranger's passing resemblance, but she needed to be sure. The bodies of her father and Justin had never been recovered, and, after what Jacob had told her about being in a shuttle-crash just before being abducted, she was haunted by the possibility that _The Collectors_ not only abducted living humanoids, but took dead bodies as well and revived them. And if that was, by the remotest possibility, the case, did that mean her father was taken too? Could he also be on this world? No, she would not think it. The vision had been a trick of the light, nothing more, and when the runners came, if they came, she would have her confirmation. The rain began to beat down harder and harder and Kathryn stopped walking to turn her back to it. There was no sign of the runners, and every moment she waited on this blustery beach seemed an eternity, but she was not willing to give up on them yet. If they came, she wanted to be here.

At last, at long, long, last, her vigil paid off and the runners appeared. Kathryn could hardly breathe as they came closer, and when she saw again a vision of Justin, her heart stopped and she lost all sense of time and place. It was only by sheer force of will that she was able to call out as they passed, and even that she was hardly aware of doing.

"Justin!"

The two men stopped running, turned to her, and the blonde one spoke. "Have you lost someone, Ma'am?"

Kathryn made no reply, just gazed at the man beside him. There was no doubt that he was the spitting image of Justin, and yet...and yet... he was different too. This Justin was younger...no more than eighteen or nineteen years of age...the same age as his companion. Confused, and yet mesmerized, Kathryn stepped closer, not taking her eyes off the young runner.

Uncomfortable, the boy glanced at his friend and then back at Kathryn. "Can I help you, Ma'am?"

The voice...it was so like Justin's...so like his.

"Ma'am?" the boy asked again. "Are you ok?"

"I'm sorry," Kathryn said at last, her mind beginning to work, "you just remind me of someone, someone I knew a long time ago." Even as she spoke, she studied the boy's face, comparing it to one etched in her memory. "His name was Justin. Justin Tighe."

At this, the young man's face lit up and all his uneasiness vanished. "You knew my father?"

Kathryn froze. "Your father?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I'm Warren Tighe, his son."

Blood drained out of Kathryn's face. Could it be true? Could Justin really have been taken? Could he be on this world? Could her father? No, this had to be a dream, it had to be...And yet, it felt so real.

"Everyone says I look just like him," the boy continued. "I think I do too."

Real or not, there was no doubt about that. He had the same eyes, same hair...even the same lips and chin.

"Your father," Kathryn asked, struggling to find her voice. "Is he...is he here?"

The question was terribly vague, but the boy got her meaning.

"No, Ma'am," he answered. "He died. During the plague."

Dead. So he was dead...even if he was taken...he was dead. Kathryn's head was swimming and she had to raise her hand to her brow to steady herself.

"Are you ok, Ma'am?" the boy asked again. "You don't look well."

"I...I'm fine," Kathryn managed to say. "I just...I didn't know...about your father."

"My mother died too," Warren informed her. "I moved here to live with my aunt."

Kathryn made no reply, just tried to find a steady path through the muddled maze in her head.

"How did you know my father? Did you know him well?"

Again she made no reply.

"What's your name?" When only silence answered, he prompted. "Ma'am?"

"Kathryn," she muttered, visibly dazed. "Kathryn Janeway."

"Janeway? Are you related to Edward Janeway?"

Now Kathryn was sure she was in a dream. This couldn't be happening...it just couldn't.

"He's my uncle," Warren continued. "Well, not really my uncle, but I've always called him that. He lives in New San Francisco and was friends with my father when we lived there"

His words were once again met with silence as Kathryn tried to hold on to sanity and to consciousness.

"You really don't look well, Ma'am," the blonde runner said. "I think you should go inside."

Kathryn ignored him and questioned Warren. "Where?" she asked. "Where in New San Francisco does he live?"

"New Richmond," he answered. "Waterway Avenue."

"Waterway Avenue," Kathryn repeated under her breath. "New Richmond".

"Do you know him?" Warren asked again.

Before she had a chance to answer, the blonde runner spoke. "This rain is no place to talk in... let's go inside."

"Good idea," Warren agreed. He then gestured to a large white house in the distance. "I live just over there, Ma'am. Shall we go in? I'd love to hear more about how you knew my father."

If he had questions, so did Kathryn...a million questions, a billion...but she doubted he could answer them.

"No," Kathryn replied. "Thank you. I...I have to be somewhere."

There was only one person who could answer her questions: this Edward Janeway in San Francisco. And if he was in San Francisco, that's where she had to be too.

"Then another time?" Warren persisted.

Kathryn gave an absent nod. "Another time."

Warren smiled gladly. "I look forward to it." His friend began to jog on the spot and Warren took the hint. "Nice to meet you, Ma'am. See you soon."

Kathryn heard herself say goodbye and watched as the two boys left, but her mind was in another place...a confused, frightened, yet wonderful place. Could the father she had worshipped and adored really have been brought to this world and still be here? It seemed too amazing to be true. Yet it had to be true. How could it not be true when she had been talking to a mirror image of Justin who claimed to be his son?

Soaking wet and shivering from both cold and emotion, Kathryn looked up at the sky, raindrops taking the place of tears that just wouldn't fall.

"Let it be him", she whispered, addressing whatever deity was listening, "please let it be him."

END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN


	12. Chapter 12

Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures.

CHAPTER TWELVE

With a backpack over her shoulders, and only $10 in her pocket, Kathryn walked along Waterway Avenue looking for house number 4163. As the name suggested, the avenue was right on the coast, overlooking the pacific ocean, and was lined with grand houses on one side and a promenade on the other. Finding Edward Janeway's house number had not been difficult. All New Richmond residential telephone numbers were listed by surname in a directory, and she had found his phone and house number under the only Janeway entry. Kathryn wished the same method could be used to find Chakotay and the others, but as they had not been on this world long enough to be in any directory, she had to keep looking in person. She had carefully written down Edward Janeway's telephone number, just incase she needed it, but did not intend to call. She wanted to meet this man face to face, wanted to see with her own eyes whether he was her father or not.

At last, house number 4163 came into view. It was as grand as all the others on the street, with bay windows, a porch, and a balcony on the upper floor, and had a well-kept garden. The house was secured by black railings and a high double gate, but when Kathryn reached the gate, she was glad to find it was not computerized. As carefully as she could, she opened it, closed it after her, and then began to walk up a paved path to the porch. There was what resembled a late twenty-first century car in the driveway, indicating that someone was home, and the closer Kathryn got to the door, the more she trembled and the faster her heart beat. Could this Edward Janeway really be her father? Was it really possible? She still felt as though she was living in some kind of dreamworld and would wake up any moment. Even though she had tried to convince herself that this man could not possibly be her father, she longed so much for him to be so that the longing had become a physical ache.

When Kathryn finally reached the porch, it was a long time before she could find the strength to ring the doorbell. Once she rang it, once this Edward Janeway answered, if he was not her father, this dream she was living, this hope, would be gone. The only way she could bring herself to ring the bell was to close her eyes, take a deep breath, and push. As she waited for a response, she held her breath, hoping, praying, that the man who answered would be her father. But when the door creaked open, and Kathryn finally opened her eyes, it was not even a man she saw standing before her, but an elderly woman. She had gray hair tied up in a bun and was wearing a white lace cardigan over a floral skirt.

"How may I help you?" she asked, looking Kathryn up and down, the look on her face not altogether approving. Kathryn's denim jeans and jacket were a stark contrast to her classy outfit.

"I'd like to speak to Edward Janeway," Kathryn said, trying not to let her inner turmoil show.

"I'm afraid he's away," the woman informed her. "And he won't be back for another two weeks."

Kathryn's heart cracked at those words. The disappointment was crushing.

"May I be of any assistance?" the woman continued, "I'm his housekeeper."

"No," Kathryn said sadly. "I really need to..." Then it occurred to her that perhaps this woman could show her a picture of Edward Janeway. From a picture alone it would be possible to tell if this man was her father. No matter how much he had aged, no matter how much his appearance had changed, she would recognize him. "Yes," she corrected herself. "Do you have a photograph of him?"

The woman flinched, unsettled by the question. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I think he may be a relation," Kathryn said honestly. "A photograph will tell me."

"I'm sorry," the woman replied, clearly still disturbed by the request, "I have no photographs to show you. And, as far as I'm aware, Dr Janeway has no living relatives."

Dr Janeway? Her father had always been known by his Starfleet rank. But as there was no Starfleet on this world, and he had a doctorate in astrophysics, it was not inconceivable that he was using that title instead.

"It really would save me a lot of trouble," Kathryn argued. "Please, I'd be..."

"As I said," the woman interrupted, "I have no photographs. If you wish to meet Dr Janeway, I suggest you write to him and request an appointment. If he wants to meet you, he will arrange a time convenient to you both."

"I need to see him as soon as possible," Kathryn beseeched her. "I've come a long way and..."

Again the housekeeper interrupted her. "Which is all the more reason to make an appointment. Then you won't waste your time in this fashion. If you wish, I can take down your contact details and pass them to Dr Janeway when he returns."

"No," Kathryn answered, not wanting to risk her message being lost, accidentally or otherwise, "I'll write to him." It seemed she had no other choice.

"Very well," the woman replied, already closing the door. "Good day."

With that, the door shut.

Terribly disappointed and disheartened, Kathryn made her way back up the path. She had been so sure that she would find out today whether this Edward Janeway was her father, but now she had to wait another two weeks, maybe longer. It seemed a wait too long to bear. As soon as she had got back to her hotel room after seeing Warren Tighe, she had packed up and headed for the airport, wanting to get to New San Francisco as soon as possible. She had spent most of her remaining money on a three hour cab drive to the airport, and as there were no direct flights until Friday, she had had to endure several changes, sleeping no more than two hours in the past thirty. Now her effort seemed in vain. She may aswell have gone back to New L.A., rested, and got more money. But as she opened the tall iron gate, she tried to kick her despair. There was still a chance this man was her father, and as long as that chance existed, she had every reason to hope. Somehow, someway, she would get his attention, and if he was her father, no amount of effort could be too much.

As Kathryn closed the gate behind her, she looked around the neighborhood, taking in more detail than she had before, and noticed what looked like a cafe on the sea-front. She was hungry and thirsty, aswell as tired, and while she only had $10 to her name, it would be enough to buy a coffee and something to eat. Luckily she had bought a return bus ticket to the airport, and her New California to New Florida 'return via any route' airplane ticket would hopefully get her back to New L.A. The airport was very close to her apartment, so if she had no money for a bus by the time she got there, she would make the trip on foot.

The cafe seemed deserted when Kathryn arrived there, and for a moment she thought it was closed, but there was a sign saying open on the door. Relieved, she pushed open the door, which chimed as she did so, and stepped inside. The cafe was quaint and homely, with circular pine-wood tables topped with red and white checkered table cloths, and had several windows that overlooked the ocean. Apart from a man sitting in a corner reading a newspaper, and a young girl drinking what looked like a strawberry milkshake, the cafe was empty. Kathryn made her way over to a window table, took off her backpack, and sat down. There was a two page menu before her, so she picked it up and began to look through what was on offer. As she was doing so, a pretty woman with curly brown hair and green eyes approached her. "Good day, Ma'am," she smiled. "Welcome to Waterway Cafe."

"Good day," Kathryn smiled in return.

"Are you ready to order or would you like a few more minutes?"

A few more minutes to decide would have been good, but it was not a bad thing to be rushed. With so many appetizing snacks to choose from, she could be deciding all day.

"I'm ready," she replied. "I'll have a coffee, black, with a cheese and tomato toastie."

"Won't be long," the woman said, not bothering to write the order down as the cafe was so quiet. "Make yourself comfortable."

Kathryn had every intention of doing so, and reclined in her chair as the waitress left. It had been quite a trek down the avenue with her overburdened backpack, and she was glad to rest her weary limbs for a while before having to make the hike back. Outside the window, sea-birds flew in a blue sky, occasionally swooping down to the waves, and on the distant horizon was a small fishing-boat. Kathryn gazed at the picturesque scene, losing herself in the tranquillity, until the cafe door chimed as it opened and she instinctively turned to see who was there. She expected to see only a stranger, a stranger looking for a moment of restful succor just like her, but instead she saw a dearly familiar man. The man instantly recognized her too, and across the empty room their eyes locked.

The man was Chakotay.

END OF CHAPTER TWELVE.


	13. Chapter 13

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures._

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

For a long moment, neither Kathryn or Chakotay moved, they just stared incredulously at each other across the room. Then, at last, Chakotay stirred and closed the gap between them.

"Let me guess," he said, eyes moist. "You came after our away team and got taken."

Kathryn nodded, unable to find her voice. She couldn't believe he was really here, that he was really standing before her. For so long she'd been searching for him, exhausting herself by searching all over New L.A. and the Emerald Coast, only for him to turn up where she least expected to find him. And it was him, not a CBR, she could tell that by instinct. Not only could she see his soul in his dark eyes, but she could feel it in his aura...could feel his soul reaching out to her's and pulling it in like a magnet, the way it always had. Gone was the emptiness that had existed between them during the last few months on Voyager, gone was the distance and the awkwardness. This was Chakotay, the real Chakotay, and all Kathryn could do was get to her feet and hold him.

"It's you," she said, smiling through tears. "It's really you."

Chakotay returned her embrace and they held each other tight.

"I thought I'd never see you again," he whispered, a tear running down his cheek and into her auburn hair. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too," Kathryn said, drawing away. "And have been looking for you...everywhere I could think of."

Before Chakotay had the chance to speak, the waitress returned with Kathryn's order. The woman took one glance at the tearful pair and came to only one conclusion.

"Nothing like making up, is there?" she smiled. "And nothing I like to see more than a happy couple."

"Oh, we're not," Kathryn began, intending to explain that she and Chakotay were not a couple but then, after starting, thinking the better of it. "I mean...Yes."

The woman put the tray in her hands down on the table and then glanced up at Chakotay. "Are you joining your lady, Sir?"

"Just a coffee," he smiled.

"The usual black?"

He nodded.

The waitress then addressed Kathryn, gesturing to several bottles on the table. "Help yourself to salad dressing."

"Actually," Kathryn confessed, "I've lost my appetite." There were so many happy butterflies in her stomach, and so many questions in her head, that there was no way she could eat right now. "But of course I'll pay for my order." She reached into a pocket of her jacket and pulled out a $5 note. "Here, keep the change."

The woman took the note. "I can make your order to-go if you'd like, Ma'am. Yours too, Sir."

"No, thank you," Kathryn replied. Then she changed her mind. "Well...maybe just the coffee."

The woman smiled. "As you wish, Ma'am."

"Make mine to-go too," Chakotay said.

"Ok, Sir." With that, she picked up the tray and carried it over to the counter.

Kathryn turned to Chakotay as the waitress prepared their drinks. "Since when has black coffee been your usual?"

Chakotay looked deep into her eyes. "Since it reminded me of you."

Kathryn smiled, her eyes sparkling, and could hardly breathe as they gazed at each other. Time seemed to stand still and yet pass so quickly.

"Here y'are," the waitress said, bringing over two cups of coffees to-go. "All ready."

Kathryn and Chakotay both took a cup with a thank you, and then Chakotay fumbled in his pocket for some change.

"It's on the house," the woman declared, figuring his intention. "Seeing you both happy is payment enough."

"Thank you," Chakotay smiled.

The woman smiled in return. "Have a good day."

Kathryn picked up her backpack and slipped it over her shoulders. "I already have."

"Then I hope it gets even better," the woman added.

Kathryn smiled, and then she and Chakotay left.

* * *

When they were outside the cafe, Chakotay gestured to a tall, but elegant, apartment block. "I live on the fifth floor," he said. "We can go inside, if you'd like."

"I would," Kathryn replied, not fancying the idea of sitting on the promenade. The weather was sunny, but there was an uncomfortable southern wind.

Chakotay smiled. "Then follow me."

Kathryn followed him across the road and into the building. To her relief there was a lift, as her backpack was hell on stairs, and in no time they were on the fifth floor.

"My apartment isn't big," Chakotay said as they walked down a narrow corridor to his flat, "but it's comfortable, quiet, and has a great view of the ocean. I'd have to be a millionaire to afford anything bigger in this neighborhood."

"I don't doubt it," Kathryn replied, stopping as he stopped before a wide white door. "I'm beginning to think one needs to be a millionaire just to survive on this world. I'm so glad I was born in the post-money era."

Chakotay opened the door with a silver key. "Finding it hard to budget?"

"You could say that," Kathryn smiled. "If I had to have been born in the money-era, I'd better have been rich."

Chakotay held open the door for Kathryn and she walked inside. While the room she entered was definitely small, it was homely, having a soft beige carpet on the floor, a brown velour couch, a smoky glass table, and very relaxing cream walls. From long windows was the promised view of the ocean, and in the air was a sweet smell of honeysuckle.

"Even if you'd been a pauper," Chakotay smiled, closing the door behind them, "I think you'd have made your mark."

"Maybe," Kathryn said putting down her coffee and taking off her backpack, "but I'd like to have done it in style."

Chakotay laughed softly, put down his own coffee, and then gazed at her. Kathryn gazed at him too, neither quite believing that the other was before them.

"I can't believe you're really here," Kathryn said, "or rather that I'm here. I was beginning to think I would never find you."

"I didn't know you were on this world to be found," Chakotay confessed. "I thought it was just us, the away team." He paused. "Actually, at first I thought it was just me, but then I saw Tal Celes in New Malibu and figured it had to be all of us."

"In New Malibu?" Kathryn asked. Could he have seen the elusive other Celes, or had the real Celes been there for a visit?

"Yes. That's where I lived at first...where I was put."

"I see," Kathryn said. "I was put in L.A...the same apartment block as Celes and Dieter Willis." She paused. "Did you speak to Celes?"

"No. I tried too, but she didn't see me and was gone before I could approach her."

"New Malibu is hardly around the corner. What brought you here?"

Chakotay stepped closer. "I'd imagine the same reason that brought you here."

At that, Kathryn lowered her eyes and fiddled with her fingers. "Do you know?" she asked quietly, not sure if she really wanted the answer, not yet, "if it is him? My father?"

"I do," he said kindly. "It is."

Kathryn's eyes flew to his face, tears filling them. "Really? It's really him?"

Chakotay nodded.

A tear ran down Kathryn's trembling cheek. "Oh Chakotay..."

Chakotay edged closer and, whether it was right or wrong, drew her close. It was evidently right as Kathryn gladly accepted his embrace and lay her head on his shoulder.

"I saw his profile in a science book," Chakotay told her. "I thought it was your father, but without speaking to him I couldn't be sure. So I got his contact details from the publisher and wrote to him. He wrote back right away, saying he wanted to meet, and we met as soon as we could. We got on well and I decided to move here." He paused. "Being close to him made me feel closer to you somehow, and I think your father felt the same way."

"I've been so afraid of hoping," Kathryn confessed, "incase it wasn't him."

"I understand," Chakotay replied. "I've told him all about you, everything you've achieved. He's so proud of you."

"I want to see him," Kathryn said, drawing away, "is there any way that I can? Where is he?"

"On Safari in New Africa. We can try to get a message to him, but there's no guarantees."

"I guess on this world," Kathryn said disappointedly, "Africa may aswell be the Oriena Sector."

"Unfortunately," Chakotay sympathized.

"Well," Kathryn sighed, resigning herself to an agonising wait. "I suppose two weeks will end soon enough."

Chakotay nodded. Then he put his hand on her shoulder. "There's something else you need to know. Your father wasn't brought here alone. Your fiance, Justin, was brought here too."

"I know," Kathryn replied. "I saw his son in Florida...that's how I ended up here." She paused. "None of this seems real. My father alive, you here...I feel as though I've died and gone to heaven."

"Well, maybe we have," Chakotay said seriously. "Died. There are many people who think that this is some kind of afterlife. And I've been thinking about things. All of us who were taken seem to have been involved in some kind of accident just before we woke up here."

"What do you remember?" Kathryn asked. "Celes and Dieter don't remember anything, except one minute being on the Delta Flyer and the next on this world."

"Not much," Chakotay answered. "Everything happened so fast. One moment we were cruising through space, fully on target, the next all our systems went crazy and...and that's all I remember."

"Strange," Kathryn said. "If I didn't know for sure this wasn't an afterlife, I'd be inclined to believe it."

"What makes you sure?"

Kathryn was a moment in answering. There was so much that Chakotay didn't know. So much, that she didn't really know where to start. "The dead aren't replaced with CBRs," she told him.

Chakotay frowned. "CBRs?"

"Computerized biological replicas."

"Bio-robots?"

Kathryn nodded. "You, Tuvok, Seven, Celes and Dieter Willis were all replaced with one."

"I see," Chakotay replied, trying to absorb her words and their implications. "Then we definitely can't be dead. I thought maybe we were...that maybe this was some kind of intermediate stage between death and paradise, and those who died here went to a higher level. But we must have been abducted and this some kind of living museum."

"It must be," Kathryn agreed. "I can't think why else they want us. It's all so bizarre. And I don't even like to think how they're watching us. I'd rather think they're not...that they're amongst us observing, rather than watching us directly."

"How did you find out we'd been replaced?"

"Dr Loriska told us," she told him, "a neurological specialist on earth." She lowered her eyes. "I'm ashamed to say I didn't guess you'd been replaced. The robots were very sophisticated. There were signs, but any difference in your personalities I put down to other things. I'm sorry."

"You say this specialist was on Earth," Chakotay asked. "Does that mean...?"

Kathryn nodded. "We got home." She paused. "A lot has happened over the past few months."

"Evidently," he replied. He then looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"Me too," she said quietly.

"How did you do it? How did you get home?"

"Let's just say we had a little help from an older me. She helped us to get passed the Borg and use one of their transwarp hubs to get home."

"Then I guess congratulations are in order, " he said sincerely, "but I must admit to being somewhat confused. If you got home, how are you here?"

"We came back to the Delta Quadrant," Kathryn clarified, "me and the Doctor. I came to an agreement, of sorts, with Q and he created a wormhole for us. While the Doctor and I were scanning this world, _The Collectors_ took us. _The Collectors_ is what legend calls these aliens who are keeping us."

"You were brave...to come back for us."

"I have a mission to complete," she said matter-of-factly. "All for one and one for all." She paused. "Have you seen any of the others? Seven or the Doctor?"

"No," he answered. "Only Tal Celes that one time."

Talking of Celes reminded Kathryn of the multiple lifesigns she and the Doctor had detected. "It may not have been Celes," she said cautiously. "When the Doctor and I scanned this world, we found two Celes's and...three of yourself."

Chakotay's eyes widened. "Then...I may be a bio-robot?"

Kathryn nodded. "But I really don't think so. The other Chakotay, he was...he was different. By the time we got home I hardly knew him...Seven or Tuvok either. According to Dr Loriska their behavior is governed by a program that tries to guess how you would behave in a certain situation...kind of like a hologram does...but as it's just a program, it makes mistakes. And then once it's made one mistake, it makes another, then another, resulting in the robot behaving in a way that the person it's imitating wouldn't."

"How was he different?"

"In subtle ways," Kathryn answered. "Not ways enough to set off major alarm bells, but ways that made actions seem out of character somehow." She paused. "You and Seven...you were.." She couldn't say the words.

"We were what?"

"A couple."

Chakotay flinched. "As in...romantically?"

Kathryn nodded.

Chakotay stepped away, visibly hurt. "And you really thought that was me?"

"Why wouldn't I? Why couldn't you have feelings for her? She's smart...beautiful..."

"Maybe so, but I've never been interested in Seven that way. I never could be interested in her that way. Damn it, Kathryn, you know that the only woman I've ever wanted on Voyager is you!"

As soon as the words were spoken, Chakotay regretted them, and he turned away from her, a tortured figure.

"I thought you'd moved on, Chakotay," Kathryn said, closing the gap between them. "What else could I think? But if you want the truth, it hurt. It hurt like hell. My only comfort was the knowledge that you were happy."

At this, Chakotay turned to her and they looked at each other, pain mingled with longing.

"I love you, Kathryn," he said quietly. "I've always loved you. I don't know if I can ever stop."

"I don't ever want you too," Kathryn said, a tear running down her cheek. "I love you too." She paused. "But you've always known that, haven't you?"

"I hoped," he said honestly. "Sometimes I felt you did and other times...I didn't know." He lowered his eyes. "It seemed too good to be true...that someone like you could love someone like me. You're the most amazing person I've ever known."

Kathryn took his hands in hers. "You are to me. You've had so much pain and heartache in your life, yet you're the kindest, bravest, most sincere person I know. You're brave in body, spirit and heart."

"So are you," Chakotay replied. "There's been pain and heartache in your life too." He then let go of one her hands to touch her pale cheek. "But I don't want there to be any more pain. I want you to be happy, Kathryn. I want to make you happy."

"As I do you," Kathryn said tearfully. "And we will be...once we've found the others and get them home."

A sadness filled Chakotay's eyes. "Everyone who's ever tried to escape this world has failed. There's no way out of this world, Kathryn. We're stuck here.."

Kathryn drew away from him at those words. "I don't believe that. I won't believe that."

"I didn't want to at first. I hoped you'd find me or that I'd wake up to find it's all a dream, but eventually I had to accept I was stuck here. And it's not a bad place. In fact it's a good place. We can have a good life here...together."

"No," Kathryn said, turning towards the window and gazing out. "Somehow, someway, I'll get us out of here. I don't care what anyone says, what anyone thinks, or what the obstacles are. To get us home, I'll do whatever it takes."

A cold shiver ran through Chakotay's body. He knew that she meant it.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN


	14. Chapter 14

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"One bowl of spicy Talaxian tomato soup for Admiral Janeway," Neelix said as he entered his former Captain's shuttle, accompanied by the Doctor, "complete with freshly baked bread and a glass of refreshing Karatona Mineral Water."

"That's very kind of you, Neelix," Kathryn said, turning away from the helm, "but you don't have to keep on feeding me. My replicators are in fine working order."

"And what kind of a host would I be if I didn't take care of my guest's culinary needs? If there's one thing we Talaxians pride ourselves on, it's our hospitality."

"I helped bake the bread," the Doctor announced proudly. "And added the finest Talaxian seeds to make it super-nutritious."

"And super-delicious," Neelix said, placing the tray in his hands down by Kathryn. "I only wish you'd let me be a proper host and come and stay with Dexa and me instead of sleeping in here." He looked up at the Doctor. "You're enjoying your stay with us, aren't you, Doctor?"

"Immensely," he answered sincerely.

"We have plenty of room, " Neelix continued, "and we'd be delighted to have you."

"And in any other circumstance, I'd be delighted to stay with you," Kathryn told him, "but I'm not here on vacation, I'm here to work. It's much easier to do that if I stay onboard because I have everything at hand and can work and rest as I please."

"And I hope you are," the Doctor interjected, "getting enough rest. All I've seen you do for the past four days is work."

"I have a lot of data to try and make sense of. And the sooner I do, the sooner we can rescue Chakotay and the others."

Several information files Q had given them had turned out to be nothing more than pages and pages of random letters, words and numbers. It was possible _The Collectors_ had corrupted the files, but Kathryn preferred to think that Q had disguised the information in code. By doing so, the information would have escaped _The Collectors_ attention when they scanned the ship's systems.

"Any closer to cracking the code?" Neelix asked.

"No," Kathryn replied, "but every wrong path I take means one less to walk."

"What if there isn't a code to crack?" The Doctor asked more pessimistically, "What if _The Collectors_ have corrupted the files?"

"I'm not entertaining that thought until I've exhausted every possible solution."

"Why don't you ask Q if there is a code or not?" Neelix suggested. "That way you'd save yourself a lot of work. And if the files have been corrupted, he can replace them."

"I would," Kathryn answered, "if I knew how to contact him. You should know by now that he comes and goes only at his bidding, not at mine."

Suddenly, Q appeared. "That's not very fair, Kathy."

Kathryn turned sharply towards him. "Q!"

"I'm a very busy man," he continued. "You should be grateful that someone from such an exalted species even bothers to grace you with his presence at all. Many of my kind wouldn't bother with such a primitive race."

The Doctor approached Q, clearly agitated. "You promised to help the Admiral," he began, "but so far you've not delivered. First she gets taken by _The Collectors_, and second the information you've given her is nothing but techno-hog-wash. You might consider yourself to be a superior race, but you're not superior in honor or integrity. Neither have you proved to be a good friend. Friends keep their promises."

"I have kept my promise," Q argued. "In fact, I've done more than what I promised. Not only have I provided the wormhole I said I would, but I've given you everything you'll need to rescue Chuckles and the Wuckles." He turned to Kathryn. "All it will take is a little brain-power."

Kathryn's eyes lit up. "Then I'm right," she said hopefully. "The information is coded?"

"Very ingeniously," he replied, "if I do say so myself."

"Why not just give the information to us directly?" The Doctor asked, unimpressed. "Why play this game?"

"Because I like games," he teased. "You should try Warintarvokantrana. Every Partinka plays it...that's a species in the Gamma Quadrant...you'd have so much fun as a piece of cheese, Kathy."

Kathryn fixed on him a 'not amused' glare and he sobered.

"The Doctor's right," Neelix went on. "Why not give the Admiral the information she needs? Why put her to all this work?"

"Because everything worth having is worth working for, isn't that right, Kathy? Besides, if I gave you the information now, you'd get there too early."

Kathryn questioned. "Too early for what?"

"Time, not I, will tell," he smiled. "Must fly, Kathy. Bye, bye!"

With that, he was gone.

"That come-and-gone-zalus!" the Doctor exclaimed. "He always leaves in the middle of a conversation!"

Neelix looked fretfully at Kathryn. "You didn't tell me you were taken by _The Collectors._"

"That's because there's nothing to tell," she said, casting a displeased glance at the Doctor. She had told him not to let Neelix know she'd been taken. "I was only gone minutes."

Her words did not allay Neelix's fears. "But you said that everyone taken by _The Collectors_ is replaced with a CBR."

"Everyone in the away-team was," she replied, "but that doesn't mean they replace everyone they take with bio-robots. They may just keep observation data."

"But what if they do? What if you're...if you're one of them?"

"Then I am," Kathryn replied, uncomfortably turning back to her console. "And whether I am or not makes no difference to the mission I have to complete. Now, if you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I have work to do."

The Doctor folded his arms defiantly. "I'm not going anywhere," he said firmly, "until you've eaten. Doctor's orders."

Neelix also folded his arms. "Nor am I. Brain-power requires brain-food."

Kathryn opened her mouth to protest, but all she ended up doing was smiling. "Very well," she conceded. "I'll take a lunch break."

Neelix relaxed and beamed a smile. "I'm glad that's settled. Now, eat up, Admiral, before the soup gets cold."

Kathryn picked up the tray and put it on her knees. "Yes, Sir."

END OF CHAPTER FOURTEEN


	15. Chapter 15

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the Property of Paramount Pictures._

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Sitting at a small table in Chakotay's kitchen, Kathryn sipped a cup of fresh coffee as she studied a map of New Sweden. Around the map she had written notes and on the terrain she had circled several cities in red. Just as she was about to circle another, the kitchen door opened and Chakotay came in.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he said, putting down a pile of books he was holding, "we had a group of students come through." For the past three months he'd been working at a local library. Not only did the job pay the bills, but it gave him the opportunity to read a lot of books about the history and geography of this strange world.

"I didn't even notice the time," Kathryn said honestly. "I've been so absorbed." She looked at him with sparkling eyes. "I think I've found Seven."

"You have?" Chakotay asked in surprise.

Kathryn nodded. "Calling up the administration office of apartment blocks in New L.A County finally paid off. I found out that an Annika Hansen was a tenant in one in New Huntington Park two months ago. The secretary didn't know where she's gone, but put me through to an old man who lived next door to her. According to him, this Annika left to go to work in Sweden. I asked him what she looked like, and he said tall and blonde. He didn't remember if she had implants on her face or not, but given the name, the timing, Seven's Swedish ancestry, and the fact that she once told me she'd like to visit her ancestral country, it must be her."

"Agreed," Chakotay said, sitting opposite her. "Did the man know where in Sweden she is?"

"No. But as her ancestors were from the north, she must be there." Kathryn put her map before Chakotay. "I've circled a few places and done a lot of research. There's not many populated areas so she must be in one of these cities. There's an airport in New Gallivare, so once I've seen my father, I'll go there and start searching."

Chakotay made no reply. Gallivare was in the Swedish Laplands, and it was now winter in Lapland. It would be madness to galavant around the Arctic in winter looking for someone who might not even be there.

"There are a couple of hotels," Kathryn continued, "but as they're booked solid, I'll have to get a cabin. They're cheaper, anyway, and I can do my own thing. As you managed to get your driving license in a day, I'm sure I can too. Then I'll hire a car and get around that way." She paused. "I sure hope my father's made as much money as you say he has from aerotech because this trip won't be cheap."

When Chakotay made no reply, Kathryn looked up at him and sighed when she saw an all too familar look on his face. "You don't approve."

"I just don't think you've thought things through properly," he said calmly. "It may be summer on Earth, but on this New Earth it's still winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Do you really want to be traveling around Lapland in winter?"

"I'll be fine," Kathryn replied. "Plenty of people go there in winter. As I said, the hotels are booked solid."

"But surely there's an easier way of finding her. How about searching by phone again? It would save a lot of work and expense."

"I've tried," she answered. "I called several places this morning, but got no where. And the time difference makes things awkward. I have to search in person."

"Then why not wait until the weather's better? In the meantime you can look for Tuvok or the Doctor."

"I might lose the trail. Besides, I'm more worried about Seven than Tuvok or the Doctor. Unless she's found Tuvok, or one of the CBRs, then she's all alone in a world she's totally unfamiliar with. I hoped that finding you would lead me to her, but as that's not the case, she has to be my priority now."

"I'm sure Seven is more than capable of looking after herself," Chakotay reasoned. "If this Annika Hanson is her, then she's already got herself a job in a place she wants to be."

"Maybe, but I won't be happy until I know she's ok."

Chakotay hardly dared to ask. "When are you thinking of leaving?"

"Next week."

"Next week? But your father's not due home until the weekend. Don't you want to spend some time with him?"

"I will," Kathryn replied. "We'll have plenty of time together before I leave." She tidied up a pile of papers. "The best thing I can do for my father...and for everyone...is to get us all home."

Chakotay looked at her sadly. She was as devoted to this mission as she ever had been to getting Voyager home, but even though the odds had always been against them getting the ship back to the Federation, getting Voyager home was a million times more likely than escaping this world. Here they had no familiar technology, and the closest thing to a space-craft was an aeroplane.

"Maybe it's not your mission," he suggested. "Maybe it's another Kathryn's."

Kathryn looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"You say that we were all replaced with CBRs. Maybe you've been replaced too. And if you have, that Kathryn will be in a much better position to rescue us than you are. And if she can't find a way with all our technology, what hope do we have without it?"

At those words, Kathryn paled. "I never thought of that," she said quietly, "that I could have been replaced."

"It seems likely to me."

"I guess," she agreed. "But then my father and Justin were never replaced."

"No, but they were taken from the Alpha Quadrant. Perhaps they only replace those they take from this region of space. Perhaps as some kind of security measure so comrades won't come looking for them."

"As good a theory as any, I guess." She paused. "But there's no way of knowing if I've been replaced or not. If I have, then my other self may well be trying to rescue us, but if not, then all our fates are in my hands. And even if I have been replaced, I can't sit around waiting for a rescue that might never happen. I have to do something." She looked at him longingly. "The question is, do I have your support?"

"I can't pretend I believe we will escape," he said sincerely, "but I do believe it's possible to find Seven, Tuvok and the Doctor. It may not be easy, but I think it can be done. So yes, if you really want to go to Sweden to find Seven, then you have my support."

Kathryn gave a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"I just wish you'd wait a while. Temperatures can get as low as -40 celsius and it's dark most of..."

"I know all that," Kathryn interrupted, "but so long as I'm careful, I'll be fine."

Chakotay sighed. Once Kathryn had set her heart on something, there really was no reasoning with her. He could only hope that she would change her mind after seeing her father.

"Besides," she continued, "with fewer tourists there, it should be easier to find her."

"I won't be able to come with you," Chakotay had to say. "I can't take any more time off work." He had already taken the past week off to be with her. "But I have a week due in April, if you waited until then, I could..."

"I can't wait until then," Kathryn interrupted again. "I'm going next week. And I understand about you having to work. Never before have I appreciated the old adage 'money doesn't grow on trees' the way I do now."

Chakotay couldn't help but smile at that. "Neither have I."

"And I'm really grateful," she said sincerely, "for you paying for our trip to New Malibu last week and for all the money you've lent me. As soon as I can, I'll pay you back."

"No need," Chakotay replied. "I'm happy to help out." He paused. "I'm just sorry that our trip bore no fruit. Maybe it wasn't Celes I saw that one time. Maybe it was just someone who looked like her."

"Perhaps, but there aren't that many Bajorans here. It must have been the other Celes, seeing as our Celes says she's never been to New Malibu."

"I suppose. But I really did only see her at a glance."

Kathryn picked up her cup of coffee and took a sip, only to find her drink was far from hot. "Urgh, cold," she complained. "I'll have to make another."

"I've got a better idea," Chakotay replied. "How about we go over to the cafe? You're thirsty and I'm starving." He smiled. "Actually, I'm both."

"Me too," Kathryn smiled in return. "Let's go."

With that, they got to their feet and left the room.

END OF CHAPTER FIFTEEN


	16. Chapter 16

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

A clock ticked away the seconds as Kathryn waited in Chakotay's living room for him to arrive with her father. The day had finally arrived for her father to come home, and Chakotay had gone to collect him at the airport. The plan was for Chakotay to gently break the news of her presence to her father, so he'd have time to prepare himself for the reunion, and bring him here. Every now and then Kathryn pinched herself to make sure she was really awake. Everything still felt so much like a dream that she half-expected to wake up any moment and find herself back on Voyager. She couldn't help wonder sometimes if all these experiences were due to an altered state of consciousness...perhaps as a result of an alien virus or a head injury. But if this was some kind of dream state, she wanted to keep on dreaming just a while longer.

Outside the window, a winter sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of red, and Kathryn watched as crimson waves showered a rocky shore with dying kisses. Tomorrow a new sun would rise, giving birth to a new day, and that new dawn would bring with it a new era...an era in which her father would once more be a part of her life.

Suddenly, the door opened and Kathryn turned to face it. Her heart was pounding and her hands sweating, but at the sight of a lone man in the doorway...a man with an aged but dearly familiar face...her heart stopped and time itself seemed to stand still.

"My Kathryn," the old man whispered. "My goldenbird."

"Daddy," she replied, tears filling her eyes. "Oh Daddy..."

Before she knew it, his arms were around her, and they were holding each other tight.

* * *

"We looked for you," Edward said as he and Kathryn sat snuggled up to each other on the couch, "Justin and I. We looked for weeks. We felt sure that if we were taken, you had to be too. But when the weeks became months and there was no sign of you, we came to the conclusion you were not taken. So many people who'd been taken said they'd been in an accident before waking up here, which is why so many people believe this is some kind of after-life, and we came to the conclusion that maybe these Collectors, as you call them, only took those who were fatally injured to revive them and put them on this world. That would mean you had survived the crash, and that thought comforted us both." He paused. "I'm sorry for all the pain and grief you suffered. I'd never have invited you and Justin along for that test-flight if I'd imagined for a moment you were in any danger."

"I know that, Daddy," Kathryn said, sitting up to look at him. "Of course I know that. And what kind of person would I be if I hadn't grieved for you both? You both meant everything to me, and in one instant I lost you both. I didn't want to live, don't know how I did keep on living, without you both." A tear ran down her cheek. "I could have saved you...if only there'd been enough power to transport..."

Edward brushed a stray strand of hair away from her pale face. "I doubt the transporters were working, not if the ship was in pieces. You probably just imagined they were because you wanted so much to save us."

"They were, I'm sure of it," Kathryn said tearfully. "If only I'd been able to choose, then I'd..."

Her father put his finger to her lips. "No more of that. Asking someone to choose between two people they love is impossibly cruel. How could I have chosen if it was between you and Phoebe? I couldn't have chosen. I'd have done the same thing...tried to save you both."

"But you were my father," Kathryn went on. "I should have saved you..." Averting her eyes, she turned away from him and fiddled with her fingers. "He...Justin...clearly didn't love me as much as I loved him...not if he could marry and have a baby with someone else within a year of losing me."

Edward put his hand on her shoulder. "Things aren't always what they seem. I know Justin loved you, very much. And he was devastated to lose you. He looked everywhere, traveled all over this world looking for you, but in the end we had to give up. We had to find a way of making peace with what had happened, and thinking you weren't taken, that you'd survived, was our only way of coping." He paused. "Serena, his wife, wasn't Warren's mother. His mother was...well, let's just say he was left holding a baby. Serena was a good friend to him, really helped him to take care of Warren, and in time they fell in love. They married when Warren was three years old, and she legally adopted him. But Justin never stopped loving you...just as I'm sure you never stopped loving him when you had other relationships."

"Only one," Kathryn said quietly. "With Mark Johnson. Do you remember him? Hobbes?"

"Yes," her father smiled. "I remember him."

"And not for almost ten years after the accident. I couldn't bear the thought of being with someone who wasn't Justin." She paused. "Have you...had someone since Mom?"

"No," he replied. "But my situation was...is...different. I knew your mother was still alive and would likely have a long life. To have another relationship, even though we'll never see each other again, would seem like adultery." He paused. "You and Justin were never married, so you'd never made that ultimate commitment, and he had no way of knowing what had happened to you."

"I know," Kathryn conceded. "It's just...it's just that he moved on so soon. I guess I'm just not worth holding out for. Mark moved on quickly too."

"From what I gather," her father said kindly, "there's someone who has been holding out for you for a very long time."

Kathryn averted her eyes again and made no reply. She knew he meant Chakotay. And he was right.

"He's a good man, Kathryn. And he loves you very much."

"I know," she whispered. "And I...I love him."

Her father took her hand in his. "Then embrace him, Kathryn. Embrace your love for each other. It's a precious gift."

"I can't," Kathryn said, getting to her feet and going over to the window. "Not yet. I've got to find a way of getting us out of here."

Edward got to his feet and closed the gap between them. "There's no way out of this world, Kathryn. If there was, Justin and I would have found one. But there isn't. We're stuck here."

"I don't believe that," Kathryn said, turning to face him.

"It's the truth. In the early days, Justin and I thought of building our own ship and trying to escape, but even if we built a ship, we don't have the resources to fly at warp. And even if we did have the resources, we have no idea what kind of forcefields and other security measures surround this world."

"Even if that's true," Kathryn answered, "that we can't escape, I'm not ready to believe it. Even if I can't find a way to get us home, I have to try. I have to find my missing crewmembers and I have to try and get us home."

"Sometimes, the more we strive for something, the further out of our reach it becomes. Perhaps it's time to stop looking, take stock, and make what you can of your life. Justin did, I did, and it sounds like your friends have too. Don't pass by a chance of happiness with Chakotay by searching for what you may never find."

"I don't intend to. I intend to search for what I can find. My missing crew-members are out there somewhere and I intend to find them."

"It's a big world, Kathryn. Somewhere could be anywhere." He paused. "I know how hard it is to let go. I didn't want to stop looking for you. I didn't know if I could stop. But in the end I had to find a way of letting you go."

"I'm not ready to let go," she answered. "Seven needs me, and I'm going to find her." She paused. "I can see we're not going to agree on this, but will assist me? Chakotay says you've made a lot of money from designing aeroplanes. Could you fund me? I need money to go and look for Seven in Sweden."

"Chakotay told me of your plans," Edward replied. "And yes, I'll give you all the money you need. You know I've always encouraged you to follow your own instincts, no matter what others think."

Kathryn smiled. "Yes. But Chakotay might not thank you for it."

Her father laughed softly, and then held out his arms to her. Kathryn stepped into his embrace and they held each other close again.

"I'd come with you," he told her, "but I have commitments, commitments I've already neglected too long."

"I understand," Kathryn replied. "Besides, I work best alone."

"You always did fly solo, my goldenbird," her father said, kissing her hair. "But don't keep flying forever. Build yourself a nest one day."

"I will," she said, "one day." And she could only hope that one day would some day come.

END OF CHAPTER SIXTEEN


	17. Chapter 17

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures._

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

18 DAYS LATER

In an icy layby, beneath a dark snowing sky, Kathryn sat in a burgundy Land Rover and studied a map of New Kalix. After two weeks of fruitlessly looking for Seven in New Gallivare, she had decided to look further afield. While New Kalix was only a small town, it had several shops, a couple of restaurants, and a travel lodge. It seemed unlikely that retail or the hospitality industry would appeal to Seven, but as the former drone had an interest in cooking and a dis-interest in socializing, it was not impossible that she had chosen to live and work in a place as remote as this. Before moving on to New Boden, the next city on Kathryn's list, she intended to search all nearby towns, just incase Seven was there. Besides, she didn't want to leave New Gallivare until Chakotay was with her. Before leaving New Richmond, her father had given her a check for a quarter of a million dollars, and the money would not only allow her to search for Seven, Tuvok and the Doctor, but would allow Chakotay to accompany her. Chakotay had given his notice at work, aswell as on his apartment, and as soon as he'd worked his three weeks notice, he was going to join her. If all went to plan, he would fly into New Stockholm on Saturday morning, get a connecting flight into New Gallivare that afternoon, and she would pick him up at the airport. She had given up her apartment in New L.A. too, and now that she was a woman of means, she had signed off welfare. It sure was good to have a rich parent in this material world.

Looking at the map, Kathryn saw that the travel lodge was closest to her position, so it would make most sense to go there first. If she got no luck there, and she didn't expect too, then she would drive into town and visit the shops on foot.

Resolved, she closed the map, turned on the engine, and drove away.

* * *

When Kathryn arrived at the travel lodge, she parked as close to the hotel entrance as was possible. While it was almost 15 celsius in the car, it was -25 outside, one of the coldest days yet that she'd had to endure. Before venturing outside, she changed her shoes to boots, put on a thick insulated coat, a pair of thermal gloves, a hat, a scarf, and finally raised up her hood. The air outside was so chilling that even with the greatest protection, going out into it was like stepping into a freezer and breathing in razors.

After locking the car, Kathryn walked in falling flakes of ice towards the lodge. Cozy copper light emanated from the doors and windows, and the sight of them alone warmed Kathryn's already freezing body. When she stepped into the warm log building, she was glad to leave behind a bitter white wilderness. As soon as she was inside, she took off her hood and looked around. Over the past two weeks she had been to a number of hotels and lodges looking for Seven, but so far none had been as charming as this one. Not only was it quaintly decorated in a traditional Swiss style, but there was an old-fashioned coffee shop with a roaring fire in a stone chimney, a little gift shop selling all kinds of souvenirs, and next to the reception desk was an elegant sitting area. At the reception desk was a young girl with long strawberry blonde hair, and Kathryn went over to her. At her approach, the girl smiled.

"Good afternoon, Madam. May I help you?"

Kathryn had come to the conclusion that this world had universal translators as no matter where she went, everyone spoke fluent English.

"Yes," she replied. "I'm trying to find someone. Her name is Annika Hansen. I'm told she works here." She hadn't been told any such thing, but after weeks of searching for missing people, she knew exactly what to say to get some co-operation.

The young girl, whose badge gave her name as Erika, turned to a small computer screen. "Is that Hansen spelt H.A.N.S.E.N?"

"Yes," Kathryn replied.

The girl worked a keyboard and then spoke. "I'm afraid we don't have an Annika Hansen at this lodge, but there is an Annika Hansen registered at our lodge in New Kiruna."

Kathryn's heart skipped a beat. "There is?"

The girl nodded. "She's registered as a tennis coach in our sports complex. Is that the Annika Hansen you're looking for?"

"Yes," Kathryn replied, hoping with all her heart that she was. "Could you give me her address?"

"I'm afraid not. All employee details are confidential."

"I see," Kathryn said in disappointment.

"Is there anything else I can help you with, Madam? Would you like to reserve a room? We've had a couple of cancellations today."

"No, thank you," Kathryn answered. "Unless...Unless there are vacancies at your New Kiruna lodge."

The girl turned back to the computer. "I'll check for you."

In seconds, the check was complete.

"I'm sorry," the girl announced, "the lodge is fully booked. Would you like me to put your details on file so we can contact you if a vacancy arises? We have cancellations all the time."

"No, thank you," Kathryn replied. "I'll find alternative accommodation."

"As you wish, Madam. There are always vacant cabins this time of year, and there's a cabin park in New Kiruna not far from our hotel. I know because I used to work at our New Kiruna lodge. All rental cabins usually have central heating and are fully equipped for extreme weather."

"I'll look up the park," Kathryn declared. "Could you give me the address of your New Kiruna lodge?"

"Sure." The girl reached under the desk and pulled out a slim leaflet. "You'll find the address in here, aswell as all our other lodges. We have several throughout New Sweden."

Kathryn took the leaflet gratefully. "Thank you."

The girl smiled. "You're welcome, Madam." She then gestured towards the coffee-shop. "Feel free to stop at our coffee-shop if you'd like a warm drink before going back outside. It's open to the public until 18:00 hours."

Kathryn smiled, never able to resist a coffee, especially when the air was full of its intoxicating aroma. "I think I will. Thank you."

* * *

Sitting in a secluded corner of the coffee-shop, Kathryn couldn't help but take out her mobile phone and call up the lodge in New Kiruna. If this Annika Hansen was Seven, she didn't have to see her to know her, she would know her by her voice. After dialing, the phone seemed to ring for ages, but finally a man answered.

"Good afternoon," he said. "New Kiruna Travel Lodge. How may I help you?"

"I'd like to speak to Annika Hansen," Kathryn replied, coming right to the point.

"Just a moment..."

It seemed longer than a moment before he spoke again. And when he did, his words were not ones she wanted to hear.

"I'm afraid Annika's not working today. She won't be in until Friday."

"I see," Kathryn said, her disappointment audible. Friday was two days away. "I don't suppose you could give me her home phone number?"

"I'm afraid not, Madam. All such details are confidential. Would you like to leave a message?"

"No," Kathryn answered. "Thank you."

With that, she ended the call. Maybe she would call again on Friday, or maybe she would, as she had first thought, go there in person. Annika and Hansen were not unusual names in this country, and there was every chance this Annika Hansen was not the Annika Hansen she was looking for, but on the other hand there was every chance that she was. Seven had always shown an appreciation for sport, and had certainly always enjoyed a game of tennis. She was as likely to be a tennis coach on this world as she was anything else. Besides, this was the first lead she'd had in three weeks, and it was worth checking out in person. There was no airport in New Kiruna, and in these treacherous conditions it would take her about three hours to drive there, but if she left early tomorrow morning, she would be there before noon, and could secure herself a cabin before nightfall. When Chakotay arrived on Saturday, he could hire a car and drive out to join her. If this Annika was Seven, then they would all be happily reunited. If not, then she and Chakotay could continue searching for her together.

Satisfied with that conclusion, Kathryn picked up her mobile phone again and called Chakotay.

END OF CHAPTER SEVENTEEN


	18. Chapter 18

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

In order to get access to the Sports Complex, Kathryn had had to buy a day-pass. It had not been cheap, but if it lead her to Seven, it was worth a million times the price. With a day-pass came a private changing room, and after changing out of her bulky travel clothes into shorts and t-shirt, Kathryn made her way to the indoor tennis court. Although it had meant waiting until early evening, she had managed to book a private coaching session with this elusive Annika Hansen. There was no other way to guarantee seeing her, and if this woman was Seven, as Kathryn felt she must be, then they would have plenty of time to do some initial catching up. When Kathryn reached the tennis court, she hoped Seven would already be there, but she found herself alone. However, she was not alone for long. A side door suddenly opened and a tall young woman with short chestnut brown hair came out. She held a racket in her hand and was dressed in a blue track-suit.

"Kathryn Janeway?"

"Yes," Kathryn replied. "I'm here for a coaching session with Annika Hansen."

"That's me," the woman smiled.

Kathryn froze where she stood. "You? You're Annika Hansen?"

"That's right," she replied. "Were you expecting someone else?"

"Yes," Kathryn answered. "A blonde woman...with silver facial implants."

"Never seen her or heard of her either. I'm the only Annika Hansen around here." She put her racket down on a bench. "Let's warm up before we begin. I always insist on it."

Kathryn made no response, her mind too muddled. How could this Annika Hansen not be Seven? She'd been so sure that she would be. And yet...and yet she'd always known there was a chance she would not be.

"I said let's warm up," the woman repeated, her tone firm but not unkind.

"I'm sorry," Kathryn said. "I've changed my mind. I don't want to play today."

"You'll still be charged for this session."

"Whatever," Kathryn replied, already making her way to the door. "Good bye."

With that, she left the tennis court, leaving the bewildered coach alone.

* * *

Back in her cabin, Kathryn sat before a simulated log-fire and gazed dejectedly into the flames. A day that had begun so hopefully had ended so miserably. After two weeks of searching, she was no closer to finding Seven than she had been at the start, and how many more times was this going to happen? How many other Annika Hansens were there in this country? How many more cities would she have to go to? How many more towns would she have to search? How many more weeks were going to pass? How many more months? And then once she'd found Seven, she'd have to do it all again to find Tuvok and the Doctor, and where did she begin looking for them? This continent? Another continent?

But no, she would not give into despair. Only a few weeks ago she'd been completely alone on this world, but in the short time that she'd been here, not only had she found Chakotay, Tal Celes and Dieter Willis, but she'd been reunited with her father. If she had already accomplished this much, there was so much more that she could do. If she gave up on escaping, like everyone else had, then they truly would be stuck here. It was possible she'd been replaced by a CBR, as Chakotay believed, but even if that was the case, it was not certain this CBR would try to rescue them. Her program could have been manipulated in any number of ways. No, there was only one sure way of escaping, and that was to orchestrate the escape herself. All she had to do was find her missing crew-members and then find a way to leave this world. It was as simple as that.

With rising spirits, Kathryn went over to the table and sat down to look at her book of local maps. She had initially planned to search New Boden after New Gallivare, and the logical thing to do now was to return to her original plan. New Boden was one of the most populated cities in these parts, and it was very possible that Seven had gone to live there. All it would take to return to her original plan was a little modification of her existing one. Rather than wait for Chakotay to join her, it would be better for her to leave this town and pick him up at the airport. There was no point in him traveling west when their next destination was east. It was too late to call and tell him now as he was already on a plane to New Stockholm, but he had promised to call her as soon as the plane arrived, and she could brief him then. Even though he was getting in at 7am, his connecting flight didn't take off until 1pm, so there would be plenty of time for her to make the three hour journey to the airport. The cabin park she had stayed in just south of the airport had been almost empty, so getting a cabin there for a couple of days would be no trouble at all.

Full of optimism again, Kathryn opened a notebook, grabbed a pen, and began to plan the next stage of her search.

* * *

An alarm clock was supposed to wake Kathryn up the next morning, but it was the ringing of her mobile phone that did. Fumbling for the phone as she sat up, Kathryn clumsily opened it and spoke.

"Hello?"

The voice that greeted her was Chakotay's. "Hi," he said. "It's me. I hope I haven't woken you."

"No," she replied, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Well, yes, but it's great to hear your voice. My alarm clock was supposed to wake me, but I guess it decided to play truant. I set it for 6:30. What time is it?"

"Not quite that," Chakotay told her. "We made good time and arrived an hour ahead of schedule."

"That's great," Kathryn replied. "How was the flight?"

"Good, but I've got some bad news. My connecting flight has been canceled due to bad weather. Several of the runways are snowed under and it's unlikely they'll be operational by this afternoon. At the moment only a few outward flights are going ahead as the available runways are needed for incoming planes. I've been put on standby so that I'll get a seat on the first available flight, but I don't know when that will be. It could be a couple of days."

"I see," Kathryn said, trying not to sound as disappointed as she felt. "What will you do?"

"The airline has got me a room at a nearby hotel so I'm going to stay there. I've been put on standby for flights to New Narvik aswell, which is just over the Norwegian border and about three to four hours drive from you. Hopefully I'll get a flight to either there or New Gallivare soon. I really don't mind which, the driving is about the same. I'll let you know which one I'm coming to as soon as I do."

"Ok," Kathryn replied. There was no point in telling him that she'd intended to leave town in a couple of hours to pick him up as this turn of events had changed everything.

"How are you?" he asked. "Did you find Seven?"

"No," she answered. "It wasn't her."

"I'm sorry," he said sadly.

"But she's here somewhere," Kathryn said encouragingly. "And together we'll find her." She paused. "I can't wait to see you."

"Nor I you," he said sincerely.

There was a sweet silence, then Kathryn spoke. "Are you sure you'll find this park ok? It's a bit off the beaten track. Maybe it would be better for me to pick you up at whatever place you make it too. It's not like I have anything holding me here now."

"My flight might be transferred at the last minute. It's better for you to stay put, especially as there's going to be severe weather in most of the country for the next few days."

"The weather here's always severe," she teased. "And yes, you can say I told you so."

"I take it then you won't be checking into the Ice-Hotel."

Kathryn laughed. The Ice-Hotel was a hotel just a few miles north that was made completely out of ice. Even glasses at the bar were made of ice. "No," she laughed. "Not any time soon."

A series of bleeps interrupted their conversation, then Chakotay spoke. "My phone needs charging. I'll call you from the hotel."

"Ok. I look forward to it. Bye!"

But before he could say good-bye, the connection terminated. As soon as it did so, Kathryn felt an ache in her heart. She missed him so much, every day, and just wanted him to get here. But it looked like she was going to have to wait a while longer.

After switching off the alarm on her clock, Kathryn lay back against her pillows and looked out of a bare window. It was snowing outside, fast falling flakes of ice, and the sky was the same bleak black it was most of the time. Kathryn closed her eyes, shutting out the cold scene, and tried to go back to sleep. Sleep would pass a few lonely hours, and the passing of a few hours would bring her a little closer to Chakotay's arrival.

END OF CHAPTER EIGHTEEN


	19. Chapter 19

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER NINETEEN

After a leisurely swim in his hotel's heated pool, Chakotay climbed out of the warm water and made his way to the changing rooms. He'd been waiting all day to hear about an onward flight, but when at last he'd heard from the airport, it was only to tell him that there would be no flights north for at least eighteen hours. Chakotay had thus decided to make the most of his hotel stay and enjoy a relaxing swim.

Just as Chakotay was about to enter the changing rooms, a voice called out to him.

"Commander! Commander Chakotay!"

Chakotay turned around and found himself face to face with a human woman he recognized immediately.

"Meri Van Darka!"

Meri was a former member of his Maquis crew who'd been killed, so he'd believed, during a Voyager battle with a hostile species called the Vorlangi who lived in this region of the Delta Quadrant. She was a tall, pretty woman, with golden hair and dark brown eyes, and the silver swimsuit she was wearing showed off her shapely body.

"I had no idea you were here," Meri said. "How long have you been here? Were you killed fighting the Vorlangi too?"

"No," Chakotay answered. "And we're not dead. At least, we're not dead anymore. If we were, we've been revived and put on this world."

"Sounds like you know a lot more than me. How did you find out? Are there any others from Voyager here?"

"Yes," he replied, beginning to wonder just how many, "several...including the captain."

Meri's face fell at that. "Janeway's here?"

Chakotay nodded. "And she's doing her best to find everyone and get us out of here." He then added, almost as an after thought, "if she can." He paused. "If you have time, how about we meet up after you've finished your swim?"

"I've got plenty of time," she smiled. "My flight's been canceled. With all this bad weather, I don't know when I'll get another."

"Same here. Shall we meet in the bar at about 20:00 hours?"

"It gets noisy there. I've stayed here a few times before...perk of being a travel agent. I work for a Danish agency and it's pretty neat as I get to travel a lot in order to select places for our brochure. I call it being paid to take holidays."

Chakotay laughed softly. "Where would you like to meet?"

"How about my room? It's luxury ensuite. I'm always put in the best."

"Sounds good. What number are you?"

"451. Third floor. Where are you?"

"Top floor. My room's far from luxury ensuite, but as I'm having it free, I can't complain."

"I don't know about that," Meri teased. "I would." She then fell serious. "See you in my room about 20:00 hours?"

Chakotay nodded. "See you then."

With that, Meri left and Chakotay resumed his journey to the changing rooms.

* * *

"Strange that you were replaced with a bio-robot," Meri said, topping up Chakotay's glass of red wine as they sat together on a couch in her room, "and not me or Janeway's father."

"Yes," Chakotay replied, "my theory was that they only replace those they take in this region of space, but if you were taken here and not replaced, then maybe something else is going on. Unless, of course, they only replace those they take within a certain distance of this world."

Meri took a sip of wine. "I hate to be a pessimist, but I really don't think Janeway's going to get us out of here. I think she's crazy to even try. It's not like this is a bad place to live. Hell, it's better than Voyager ever was. If I'm honest, I don't want to escape. I like my life here. There's nothing for me back in the Federation. The Cardis saw to that. When you see her, Janeway, you can tell her to count me out of any escape attempt. I don't particularly want to hear from her either. Over the past few years I've heard enough of her croaking voice to last me a lifetime. I think this whole escape thing is a total waste of time and I'm happy where I am."

Chakotay made no reply. He didn't really know what to say as he too thought escaping was impossible. But he didn't want to say so out of loyalty to Kathryn.

"And I can tell you think so too," Meri continued. "You were always a realist. God, how I wish you'd been Captain. Things would have been so different on Voyager then. Prime Directive this, Temporal Prime Directive that...what did Janeway do? Program Starfleet protocol into her brain? If you'd have been in charge, there'd have been no Starfleet rules then. We'd have done what suited us, to hell with any Feddy directive."

"Every ship needs rules," Chakotay reasoned. "And Voyager was a Starfleet ship. Starfleet rules apply on Starfleet ships. We were lucky to have a compassionate captain who could sympathize with our motives, otherwise all we Maquis would have seen of Voyager would have been the cargo bay."

"Yeah," Meri said sarcastically. "She was real sympathetic. That's why she was out to capture us." She sighed. "But don't tell me, she figured it was in our best interest, right? That if we were captured, we wouldn't be out there risking our lives, and that in custody we could be persuaded that violence was not the way to get justice or freedom for our people or to deal with our grief?"

"Something like that," Chakotay said quietly, surprised at how well Meri had read Kathryn.

"Well, I don't care if she was sympathetic or not. Makes no difference. It certainly makes no difference now. Voyager is history and I'm glad of it. You can tell her that too, if you want."

Again Chakotay made no reply. Seeing that the conversation was depressing him, Meri changed the subject. "But enough about all that. The past is the past. What really matters now is the future. Tell me your plans."

"I pretty much have," he replied. "I'm going to help the Admiral search for Seven, Tuvok and the Doctor."

Meri shook her head in disapproval. "It's such a waste. Don't you want more than that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you could spend the next hundred years helping Janeway and still be looking. Don't you want more than to be Janeway's dog on a leash, yielding to her every command? Don't you want your own life?"

Chakotay averted his eyes. He tried not to think about what he wanted. What he wanted and what he got always seemed to be parallel lines.

"And I know why you're doing it," Meri said, edging closer. "Because for some insane reason, you're in love with her."

Chakotay looked up at that and Meri smiled. "Don't look so surprised, it's always been obvious to any one with eyes." A sadness then shadowed her face. "But you're wasting your time on her, Chakotay. She's never going to love you back...not the way you need. There's always going to be some crazy mission she's married too, always something else she needs to do. And the truth is, she will do her missions, all her schemes, regardless of whether you're with her of not. She doesn't need you."

Tears filled Chakotay's eyes and he lowered them. She was right, he knew it. Kathryn would never stop searching for Seven and the others, would never stop trying to find a way home. There had always been some reason why they couldn't be together, always some barrier, always some new obstacle. That was the way it always had been, perhaps the way it always would be. Following Kathryn seemed a certain road to heartbreak.

Gently, Meri took Chakotay's hand in hers. "Do yourself a favor, Chakotay. Get out. Let Janeway look for Seven and the others if she wants too, but get yourself a life. You deserve better than the cold, lonely, life you'll have with her. Don't you want to love and be loved in return? Don't you want to feel a woman's tender touch and gentle kiss? Because there are plenty of women who would give anything to love you. Women who can love you the way you need and deserve to be loved."

Slowly, carefully, she closed the gap between them and kissed his mouth softly. As soon as her lips touched his, Chakotay drew away.

"What are you doing?"

"I've always fancied you," Meri confessed, "ever since we were on the Liberty. A lot of us did, but you only ever had eyes for Seska and then Janeway. But you know I'm right, Chakotay. She's never going to love you, not the way you need. But maybe I can, or someone else. You'll never know if you don't give us a chance."

Chakotay got to his feet. "I think I'd better say goodnight, before we both say something we'll regret."

"What I'd regret," Meri said, standing also, "is to not tell you how things are. Don't waste your life on a woman who can never love you."

"What I do with my life is not your concern," Chaktoay argued. "I know what I want and where I want to be"

"And that's with Janeway?"

"Yes."

Meri shook her head. "Every man to his own misery." She then put her hands on his arms. "But you can't be with her tonight. And neither do you owe her anything. Stay, just this once. Allow yourself that luxury at least."

Chakotay broke loose. "I'm not that kind of guy. Goodnight, Meri."

With that, he turned around and left.

* * *

Alone in his hotel room, Chakotay looked at a photo he kept in his wallet of Kathryn. He'd taken it outside Waterway Cafe and the camera had perfectly captured her beautiful smile. Tenderly, he touched the picture, touched her smile. Touching it made him feel closer to her, connected. There was an old saying that nothing can hurt more than unwanted truth, and his heart was still stinging, still bleeding, from the whip of Meri's words. But while she had been so right about so many things, she had been wrong in saying Kathryn didn't need him. She did need him, she'd always needed him, and she'd even told him so once. She'd also told him that she loved him, not just in words but in so many other ways. All he could hope was that one day she'd stop running, stop hiding, and finally let down her shields and let him love her.

Suddenly, his hotel phone rang and Chakotay answered it. When he did, a woman on the other end told him she was calling from the airport.

"You'll be pleased to know," she said, "that we should be able to get you on a flight tomorrow. We have a lot of people waiting to go north so we're going to try and squeeze in a flight to New Narvik tomorrow morning. If that fails, we'll try and squeeze a flight into New Gallivare in the afternoon. If you'd like to board, then report to terminal 2 at 6am and we'll see what we can do."

"Great," Chakotay answered. "Thank you."

"I must warn you, though," she continued, "bad weather may disrupt any onward travel plans you have. Some roads may close and rail services may not run if conditions up north worsen."

"I'll take my chances," Chakotay replied.

"Then report to terminal 2 by 6 am."

Chakotay looked again at his picture of Kathryn, his whole heart aching to be with her. "I'll be there."

END OF CHAPTER NINETEEN


	20. Chapter 20

_Star trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER TWENTY

Magnificent columns of ice, delicately engraved with exquisite patterns, graced a winding corridor of the Ice-Hotel. In between the columns, sparkling in dim blue light, were spectacular statues of ice. The carved masterpieces were over six feet high, all of them representing a mythological creature, and every now and then Kathryn stopped walking to take a photograph, knowing Chakotay would appreciate the craftsmanship. If someone passed her, Kathryn glanced at their face, just incase that face belonged to Seven, but she didn't hold out much hope of seeing the former drone here. The only reason she herself was here was because there was no where left in this vicinity to search. It was better to be here doing something than sitting in her cabin doing nothing. Chakotay had called to say he would be arriving in New Narvik airport at about 11am, providing his flight wasn't diverted to New Gallivare, but it would be late afternoon before he arrived at the cabin, leaving her with an idle day. And if there was one thing Kathryn hated to be, it was idle.

After walking for what seemed an eternity, Kathryn finally came to the end of the corridor and found herself in a small room with all kinds of silver objects embedded into the ice walls. Curious, Kathryn looked around, searching for design amidst chaos, but chaos seemed to be the design. To her left, jutting out of an ice-wall, was a long oval mirror with a glittering diamond frame. Kathryn walked over to it and studied the frame, trying to work out if the diamonds were real. As she did so, she heard a faint voice calling to her, calling as though it was echoing on the wind.

"Captain..."

The voice was barely more than a whisper, but Kathryn recognized it immediately. It was Tuvok's.

Turning around, Kathryn desperately scoured the space behind her, but all she saw was an empty ice room decorated with silver.

"Captain..."

The voice was behind her now and Kathryn span back towards the mirror. Just as she did so, she saw Tuvok's image in the glass...a ghostly image...a black shadow...

Kathryn turned instinctively to face the apparition, but once again she found herself alone. Yet she could feel Tuvok's presence, could feel him as though he was with her, standing right beside her...

And then the feeling was gone.

* * *

"I'm afraid there's no Tuvok on either the guest or visitor list," a helpful blonde man told Kathryn at reception. "We have a Tilsey and a Torinka, but no Tuvok."

"I see," Kathryn said quietly, still unsettled by the eerie experience.

"Could the gentleman you're looking for be booked in as part of a group? We only take down the details of the person making the booking, whether that is an individual or a company."

"Try Hansen," Kathryn suggested. It was not impossible that Tuvok and Seven had found each other. She had no idea what name the Doctor was using on this world so there was no point in mentioning him.

"No Hansen either," he replied. "The closest is Handori." He then closed the book before him. "Would you like me to make an announcement requesting your friend to report to reception?"

Before Kathryn could answer, she heard Tuvok's voice calling to her again. His voice was even fainter than it had been before, but still distinctive.

"Captain..."

Kathryn turned around sharply, but there was no one there.

"Are you ok, Ma'am?" the young receptionist asked in concern.

Kathryn turned back to him. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what, Ma'am?"

Kathryn opened her mouth to speak, but then changed her mind. "Nothing..."

"If you don't want an announcement made, would you like to leave a message for your friend on the notice board?"

"Yes," Kathryn said, trying to stay focussed. "Please..."

The man placed a notepad and pen before her, and Kathryn quickly scribbled down a message to Tuvok. She kept the message brief, telling him simply to contact her on the provided phone number.

"I'll put it up right away," the man said, taking the note from her when she was done.

"Wait," Kathryn said, retrieving the note. "I've forgotten something."

Quickly, she scribbled the words 'Seven and the Doctor' next to Tuvok's name, just incase they ever passed this way.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd leave my message up indefinitely," she told the receptionist. "I'll pay you for it."

"No need. We hardly get any messages put up. It looks better when a message board has at least some messages." He then smiled. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your visit."

"Thank you," Kathryn replied.

"If you're staying out of town, though, you might want to start heading back before dark. We're expecting some bad weather this evening."

When the temperature was already on average -20 celsius a day and the sky was forever bursting with snow, Kathryn didn't think a few degrees colder or a little more snow would make any difference, but she didn't want to be rude.

"Thanks for the tip, but I'm pretty local."

"Then you can enjoy our ice-wonder all the longer," he smiled. "Good day, Ma'am."

With that, he left to put up her note up on the board. As he walked away, Kathryn heard Tuvok call to her again.

"Captain..."

Kathryn span around and strained her eyes to see down the dimly lit corridor, but the corridor was empty.

As though drawn by magnet, Kathryn found herself walking back down the passage of ice to the silver room where she'd first heard Tuvok's voice. But when she got there, an empty silence was all that greeted her. She approached the great glittering mirror, drawn there compulsively, and tentatively touched its reflecting glass. Her fingers touched where she'd seen Tuvok's ghostly face, but the only reflection she saw there now was her own.

After a while, Kathryn left the room and made her way back up the corridor. The wonder-statues were forgotten now as she pondered over what had happened. Had she really heard Tuvok or had it all been just a figment of a tired and hungry imagination? Was the extreme cold playing tricks on her mind? Or was Tuvok trying to send her a telepathic message? Or could it be something more sinister? Was he trying to reach her from beyond the grave? No, it had to be the cold...cold combined with hunger and lack of sleep. Left to her own devices, she never ate or slept properly. She was hallucinating, a warning that her body was in need of warmth and food. And there was only one remedy for that: to find a cafe nearby where she could enjoy a hot meal in comfort.

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY


	21. Chapter 21

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Trying to ignore the deafening bleep of a smoke alarm above her, Kathryn quickly opened a smoking oven and pulled out a burning ceramic dish. Inside the dish was a nut-roast she had spent a long time preparing, but her pride and joy was now nothing but a smoking black lump.

"Damn," she said, putting the dish down on a marble-top and fanning the smoke away from her face, "double damn."

Just a quick glance at the roast told her there was no way it could be saved, and poking it with a sharp knife, only to hit rock-hardness, confirmed her suspicion. The nut-roast was ruined. If only she'd paid more attention to the time...if only she always paid more attention to the time when she was cooking...then maybe she would have less culinary disasters to her credit. But standing around waiting for something to cook was just too tedious. It had been far more interesting to set the table.

The smoke alarm rang on and on and on, finally driving Kathryn crazy, so she opened a small window, hoping fresh air would silence the screeching. As she did so, icy air blew in, chilling her to the bone, and she noticed that a wind was picking up. Flakes of ice were swirling madly through a black sky and leaves on the evergreens were shaking. It certainly looked like a rough night was on the way, and she was glad Chakotay was due to arrive any moment.

When at last the alarm stopped, Kathryn closed the window and returned to her cooking. The vegetables were boiling nicely, but she couldn't feed Chakotay just vegetables. She was going to have to make something else, something with protein, and that something with protein had to be something quick. But what? She had no idea. Preparing meals in a world without replicators was a complete nightmare. The only thing she could do was consult one of the many cookbooks that were lying on a shelf nearby and hope they contained a quick-fix recipe suitable for vegetarians.

Suddenly, her cabin phone rang and Kathryn left the kitchen to answer it. She expected to hear her father speak through the earpiece, but the voice she heard was Chakotay's.

"Hi," he said, "it's me again."

Concern welled in Kathryn's heart. Why was Chakotay phoning? He was supposed to be arriving any moment.

"Chakotay," she said, her concern audible. "Where are you? You're supposed to be arriving."

"I took a wrong turn," he explained. "But by the time I realized, I'd already driven thirty miles. It's put me off course and with the weather getting worse, I'm going be at least another hour. I thought I'd better let you know."

"Would you like me to come and meet you? If you tell me where you are exactly, I'll drive out to you. Then you can follow me."

"There's no need. I'm back on track now."

"Are you sure? It's so easy to get lost around here. I've done it myself."

"I'm sure. There's no point both of us braving this weather. It's almost -40. I'll be there before you know it."

"If you're sure," Kathryn said. "But take your time. Get yourself a cabin or something if the weather gets worse. It's already pretty rough. We can meet up tomorrow."

"I'm ok. I should reach you before the storm sets in. Besides, I doubt there's anywhere to stay in these parts."

"Just becareful. There's really nothing worth rushing here for. I've already burnt dinner."

Chakotay laughed softly. "Let me guess, nut-roast?"

"Yes," she replied "With pumpkin and lentil."

"Adventurous."

"Disastrous."

They laughed softly. Then Chakotay spoke.

"Don't worry about dinner. I'll whip something up when I get there."

"No way. You've had a long journey. I have things under control." She paused. "Are you sure you're on the right road now?"

"I'm sure. I'd have called earlier but the battery on my phone is flat and I had to wait until I passed a call-box. I tried to charge it in the car but I think the battery's dead."

Kathryn's concern increased now. "I'm not happy with you traveling without a phone. I really do think you should stop somewhere. There's got to be some hotel along the way. Don't worry about the price. I'll pay. Even if they have no vacancies, they'll have a lounge or something where you can take shelter. If it's only open to residents, offer to pay room-rate just to hang out in the lounge."

"If the weather gets a lot worse I will," Chakotay replied, "but I'm ok for the moment."

Beeps suddenly sounded, telling him he was running out of credit.

"I'm running out of time," he said. "I'll see you soon."

"Take care," Kathryn replied. "And remember to..."

But before she could finish her sentence, the connection terminated.

Regretfully, Kathryn put the phone back on the hook and for a moment felt sick with a haunting sense of foreboding. Many years ago she had lost two people she loved on an icy planet, and that accident was forefront in her mind now. She could see her father and Justin trapped inside a broken ship, could see that ship sink beneath a frozen lake while she stood helplessly by in a blizzard. Nothing could take away the agonizing horror of that moment, not even the knowledge she now possessed that her father and Justin had been rescued by aliens and revived. If Chakotay was to die on an icy road in a blizzard, she didn't know how she would bear it.

But he wouldn't die. Hardly anyone died on this world, that is what Jacob had said. Nothing was going to happen to Chakotay. In an hour's time, he would drive up outside and all would be well. If he was going to die of anything, it would be of starvation. Clinging to that thought, Kathryn returned to the kitchen to attend to dinner.

* * *

Whirling sheets of snow blinded Chakotay as he tried to drive down an icy road that wound through a forest to Kathryn's cabin. By his estimation he was now only about ten minutes away and he couldn't wait to reach his destination. Before long, this road would vanish beneath a shroud of snow and driving was becoming increasingly difficult. Even with lights at maximum illumination he could only see a few feet ahead. Everything else was lost in the mist of a blizzard.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, two animal eyes gleamed through the white haze and Chakotay swerved just in time to avoid hitting the creature. But as he swerved, the wheels on his car locked on to the ice, trapping him in a savage skid. Chakotay tried to regain control of the car, but it seemed to have a mind of its own and slid across the road, spinning wildly towards a veil of trees that grew on a slanting bank.

With sweating hands and a pounding heart, Chakotay desperately tried to stop the car sliding off the road, but before he knew it, the car was ploughing into a tree. There was a terrible crunching of metal, and then the car was rolling...

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY ONE


	22. Chapter 22

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Wrapped in a warm cardigan, Kathryn looked out of a small window in the cabin's living room as a fierce snow-storm raged outside. She kept hoping that Chakotay's car would pull up, but there was no sign of him. It was almost two hours since he'd called, and with every passing minute, her concern for him was growing. If he had checked into a lodge, as he'd said he would if driving conditions got more hazardous, then he would have called to tell her. His lack of contact had to mean he was still on the road. That thought worried her sick and she didn't know how much more waiting she could endure. So many times over past hour she'd resisted the urge to jump in her car and go look for him, but her resistance was wearing thin. If he wasn't here in five more minutes, she would go. If she didn't, she'd go crazy with worry.

A clock on the wall ticked away five excruciatingly long minutes, but still there was no sign of Chakotay. Totally resolved, Kathryn left the window and went to put on her outdoor attire. Every instinct was telling her that Chakotay was in trouble, and she couldn't ignore that feeling any longer.

* * *

Almost all Kathryn could see as she drove up the winding forest road in search of Chakotay was hazy white nothingness. It was impossible to see even the outline of trees and all she had to guide her was a safety trail of green lights placed by the park's owners. Soon, however, she would be leaving park territory and the lights would be gone. There was no way she could keep driving without them. To even try would be suicide. And if she couldn't drive, how could Chakotay? She couldn't bear the thought of him being stranded somewhere all alone in this bitterly cruel blizzard and didn't know how she was going to turn around and go back to the cabin without him.

Suddenly, something glowed in mid-air before her and Kathryn strained her eyes to make out what it was. As she got closer she saw that the glow was coming from a reflective strip on winter clothing. Someone was outside, walking. It didn't take a genius to work out that no one would be walking in this weather unless they were in trouble, so Kathryn stopped the car. The walker approached, hunched and limping, and Kathryn opened the window. When she did, her heart stopped at the face she saw.

It was Chakotay's.

"Chakotay!" she exclaimed.

"I...I...crashed...the...car," he said, teeth chattering, "a...deer..."

He was shaking violently and a nasty gash on his forehead told Kathryn he was injured aswell as suffering from severe exposure. In seconds she was out of the car and bundling him in the back seat.

"Thank God I came looking for you. I knew something was wrong, I just knew it."

She pulled a seat belt over him, locked it, and then jumped back in her seat.

"I should have come sooner," she said, closing the door. "How long have you been out here?"

"Don't...know," Chakotay replied, "a...while..."

Knowing Chakotay needed urgent medical attention, Kathryn picked up her mobile phone and dialed emergency services. As soon as her call was answered, she spoke.

"I need assistance," she said, not waiting to be asked what service she wanted. "I'm in a vehicle with an injured man who's suffering from exposure. He needs immediate medical attention."

"I'll put you through to accident and emergency," the woman replied calmly.

In seconds, a man spoke.

"Accident and emergency, how may I help?"

"I'm in a vehicle with an injured man who's suffering from exposure," Kathryn repeated. "He needs immediate medical attention."

"Is your vehicle stranded?"

"No," Kathryn told him.

"Have you been involved in a road-accident?"

"No," Kathryn replied. "But he has."

"Is the man mobile and conscious?"

"Yes."

"Then I suggest you drive to the nearest medical center and seek assistance there. In this weather we can only send out an emergency helicopter for either a stranded vehicle or seriously life threatening injuries."

"The road is too bad to drive," Kathryn argued. "I can't take him anywhere, except to my cabin."

"Are you a tourist?"

"Yes," she answered. "I'm staying in New Kiruna Cabin Park."

"Then you will probably find everything you need to treat the man in your cabin. If not, take him to a medical center as soon as the weather permits. I suggest you get moving right away. High winds and snow-drifts are expected. Best of luck, Ma'am."

With that, the connection abruptly terminated.

"I'm going to have to turn around and go back to the cabin," Kathryn told Chakotay. "I can't get you to a doctor and it seems a doctor can't get here." She wasn't at all happy about this state of affairs, but there was nothing she could do about it.

"I'll...be...ok," Chakotay said, every word taking supreme effort. "Just...need...to...get..warm..."

Kathryn positioned the car to turn, the road being just wide-enough to do so, and hoped with all her heart that he was right.

* * *

Wind howled around the cabin as Kathryn sat before a roaring fire and watched Chakotay sleep on the couch. She had treated him to the best of her ability using a med-kit she'd found in a kitchen cupboard, and was grateful that medical technology on this world was far more advanced than any other technology. In fact, it was more advanced than the Federation's. Chakotay had escaped the crash with only cuts and bruises, but in trying to walk the rest of the journey, he had suffered extensive frostbite to his feet and hypothermia. In the Federation, this would have required professional medical attention, but on this world, all a medical help sheet instructed was a dose of hypothermia medicine and dermal-regenerator socks. The medicine and socks were included in the med-kit and Kathryn applied them as directed. Only if the patient had a reverse reaction to the medication, or if the treatment did not work within eight hours, was she to call a doctor. The medication had made Chakotay sleep, and, as instructed, Kathryn had placed a blanket over him.

Suddenly, all light in the room disappeared and Kathryn found herself in total darkness. Then dim lights came on, casting a warm glow around the room, but the artificial fire was gone. Kathryn closed a fleecy white dressing gown she was wearing over her nightdress and was just about to get to her feet when an automated voice spoke.

_"Primary power has failed. Secondary power is now in use. Secondary power is limited, supplying living area only. Living area includes living room, kitchen and bathroom. All other rooms are without power. No power means no heat or light. Sleeping in living area is recommended until primary power returns. Sofa-bed and chairs are provided. To conserve power, use lights only when necessary. Heat setting is 16 celsius. For more advice consult visitor's handbook, section five. "_

Kathryn's heart sank at this announcement. Power failure was the last thing she needed right now. Wearily, she leant her head against the cushioned wing of her chair and looked again at Chakotay. As she did so, unshed tears brimmed in her eyes. The Arctic in winter was no place to be. It was dangerously cold and lethally icy. She should never have come here, should never have brought Chakotay here. He could have died on that treacherous road and if he had...she couldn't bear to think about if he had. It wasn't fair that he was suffering for her stubborness. He had warned her how dangerous the Arctic could be, so had her father, but she hadn't listened. She'd been so determined to find Seven that she'd thrown all caution to the wind. But she hadn't found Seven. She was not even close to finding Seven. And perhaps she never would find Seven. This was a big world and even in a lifetime she could only search a small part of it. Perhaps the time had come to give up her mission. Chakotay was right. Seven was more than capable of looking after herself, so was Tuvok and the Doctor. And even if she did find them all, just how was she going to get them off this world? Her father was right. If there was a way, he and Justin would have found one. There was no way. They were stuck here. She could either spend the rest of her life futilely fighting that, or she could surrender the fight and embrace what this world had to offer. And it had a lot to offer. For so many years her father had been lost to her, but now he was found. Instead of searching the world for someone she might never find, she could spend time with him, making up for all the lost years. For so many years she and Chakotay had sacrificed a life together for the lives of their crew, but here on this world they could build a life together. The choice was entirely hers to make, and the choice to make seemed entirely obvious.

Slowly, Kathryn got up and went over to the couch where Chakotay lay. Underneath the seat was a small button that would lower the back to form a bed, and Kathryn pressed it. When the back was horizontal, Kathryn picked up a pillow she had put on a chair incase Chakotay needed another, and lay it next to his. She then picked up a spare blanket and spread it over the newly formed mattress. When that was done, she took off her dressing gown, put out the lights, and climbed in beside him. Beneath the warm blanket, she cuddled up to him, closed her weary eyes, and let her exhausted body sleep.

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY TWO


	23. Chapter 23

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Red.

That was all Kathryn could see in her dream.

Red. Everything was red, just red. The sky, the ground, it was all just one haze of red. Alone, wearing nothing but her white nightdress, she walked through the redness. It was hot. Unbearably hot. Suddenly, flames surrounded her, ferocious flames that blinded her eyes and burnt her skin.

Hot, so hot.

Then cold.

White.

That was all she could see now.

White. Everything was white, the sky, the ground.

Snow began to fall, softly, softly. It was so cold.

Shivering, freezing.

Then warm.

Red and White.

To her left flames roared, licking a dome of red sky above her with burning, hissing, tongues, and to her right snow fell, intricate patterns of lace, silently kissing a carpet of crisp white snow beneath her.

A mirror.

Amidst the falling snow was a mirror. The same diamond mirror she had seen at the Ice-Hotel. It was sparkling, dazzling, the gems flickering red and white in the contrasting light.

Kathryn walked over to the mirror and looked into the glass. It was on fire, burning with the reflection of wild fierce flames.

"Captain..."

The whispered voice was Tuvok's. It was coming from the mirror.

"Captain..."

Suddenly, the Vulcan's face appeared amidst the flames, a ghostly dark figure on fire.

"Can you hear me?"

"Yes, Tuvok," Kathryn replied. "I'm here."

"Step through the mirror. Meld your mind with mine."

Kathryn reached out to touch the glass and her hand went through it.

"Step through the mirror," Tuvok beseeched again. "Meld your mind with mine."

Almost hypnotically Kathryn stepped into the glass. Light engulfed her, blinding light, then it was gone.

Blue.

All was blue.

Then there was Tuvok. He was standing before her, as solid as stone, dressed in a blue outfit. White clouds suddenly surrounded them and a golden sun shone in the blissful sky. It was a glorious day.

Tuvok held out his hands to Kathryn and she took them. As she did so, a surge of energy swept through her body.

"We are now one," Tuvok informed her. "My mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts."

"I'm asleep," Kathryn said to him. "I'm dreaming. This is nothing more than a dream."

"A mind is most open when asleep. Your mind must be open to hear me. I have felt you, these past few days, but have been unable to reach you."

"I've heard you," Kathryn told him. "I saw your face in a mirror. The mirror I just stepped through. But it was just an hallucination. You are an hallucination. I am asleep."

"I am real, Captain."

"I'm an Admiral now. Voyager is home."

"Then you came back for us."

"I did, with the Doctor. We were taken."

Tuvok's hold on her hands tightened, as though he was drawing power from her. "You are far away. Very far away."

"Where are you?"

"On a planet that is called New Vulcan."

"New Vulcan?"

"A world that resembles Vulcan. A world in which time is not the past, the present or the future, but is all. Where are you?"

"On a world called New Earth. I am with Chakotay and have found Tal Celes and Dieter Willis. I have also found my father. He was brought here twenty years ago by a species known only as _The Collectors_."

"A species most powerful. We are flies to giants."

"I want to get you all home," her longing evident in her voice. "I want that so much."

"I feel your desperation, but we can never leave. It is impossible. A fly cannot defeat a giant."

"That is not true. An insect bite can be deadly."

"And giving that deadly bite can be fatal."

"I want to get you home, help me..."

"I cannot. I can only help you find peace. We have known each other for many years. You have always achieved the unimaginable, but never strived for the impossible. Part of your wisdom is your ability to discern the achievable from the unachievable and maximize your efforts accordingly. New Vulcan has existed for hundreds of generations. No one has yet escaped."

"I don't want to accept that we are stuck here, but in my heart I know that we are. I know I cannot get us home."

"New Vulcan is my home now. I have a new life."

"Are you happy, Tuvok?"

"Vulcans do not experience happiness. I am content. I have what I need."

Kathryn looked up at the clouds sailing by above her and closed her eyes. "I am dreaming, this is not real."

"It is real," Tuvok said firmly. "We are linked. Your mind to my mind."

Kathryn opened her eyes and looked into his again. "But how?"

"My mental abilities are enhanced on this world. Yours may be too. It is said that Humans once possessed telepathic abilities. With both our abilities enhanced, our old bond is enough to unite us. You may have noticed a heightened sense of instinct on this world."

"Not really," Kathryn replied, "but then...I guess I have been in the right place at the right time more than can be coincidental. And I knew Chakotay was in trouble tonight. I felt it in my bones." She paused. "But I cannot find Seven or the Doctor."

"Heightened instinct is not psychic ability. It is also possible that Seven is not on this world. If there is a New Vulcan and a New Earth, there may be a New Collective."

"I hadn't thought of that," Kathryn said, pondering the possibility. "But you're probably right. This world is a million times the size of Earth. There may be a million worlds within this world."

"They watch us," Tuvok said vaguely. "I have sensed them."

"_The Collectors_?"

"Yes."

"What do you sense?"

"Their essence, their spirit."

"Non-corporeal beings?"

"Yes. They come and go. Most do not sense them. Only those of us taken seem to do so. Most Vulcans are born here."

"If this is not a dream, if you can really reach me, why have you not reached me before? I have been on this world for weeks."

"The distance between us must have been too great. As I said, I have only sensed you over the past few days. Where are you?"

"In Sweden. I came here looking for Seven."

"Are you near the Arctic circle?"

"North of it."

"Then your proximity to the North Pole may be a factor. Electromagnetic fields can heighten mental abilities."

Suddenly, the bright blue sky around them turned gray and Tuvok's outfit changed from blue to black.

"We are losing the link," he said. "This connection requires great effort on my part. I am tiring and cannot sustain the link much longer. I wanted to let you know that I am well and content, and I wanted to say farewell. We cannot link again."

"Why not?"

"The mental stress would endanger both our lives."

The sky turned black now and Tuvok faded into a ghost before her.

"We must end the meld."

"Not yet," Kathryn protested, her heart aching at the thought, "there's so much more we have to say..."

"I cannot sustain the link. We must say farewell. It has been an honor to serve you as my captain and to know you as a friend. Live long and prosper."

He was hardly visible now and Kathryn could barely feel his hands in hers. Soon he would be gone. A tear ran down Kathryn's cheek.

"Goodbye, Tuvok."

His hands let go of hers and he vanished completely. As he did so, darkness fell over Kathryn until she was lost in the deep blackness of sleep.

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY THREE


	24. Chapter 24

Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

After sleeping for almost fourteen solid hours, Chakotay finally stirred awake. His eyes fell upon a small window, through which he could see snow dance upon a wild wind as it descended from a gray sky, and he looked at the scene for a moment before shifting perspective. As he did so, Kathryn came into view, sitting before an empty fireplace, reading. She was wearing a fleecy white dressing gown, and he noticed there was a glass of orange juice in her hand.

"What's this?" he asked. "Kathryn Janeway drinking orange juice?"

Kathryn turned to him and smiled happily. "Chakotay...you're awake."

"So," he smiled. "What's the story? Run out of coffee?"

"Of power," she said, getting to her feet and going over to him. "Well, not exactly. Primary power has failed. We're running on reserves so I had to make the ultimate sacrifice."

"Then maybe we should have power-failure more often," he teased. "I'm sure the Doctor, where ever he is, would agree with me."

"I'm sure he would," Kathryn said, sitting on the edge of his make-shift bed. She then gently put her hand to his brow. "Normal," she commented. "How do you feel? I checked your vitals earlier, they were fine."

"Good. Refreshed. In fact, I feel like I could run a marathon."

"Glad to hear it. But you need to take things easy for the next few days. You've been through quite an ordeal."

"I don't remember much, not after crashing. It's all kind of a blur."

"I'm not surprised, you were in pretty bad shape when I found you." On a table next to the bed was a water-jug and Kathryn filled a long glass with water. "Drink this, you need to replenish lost body fluids."

"Thank you," he said, taking the glass. "I am rather thirsty."

"I've made some pancakes too," she said, gesturing to a plate with a silver lid. "Don't worry, I didn't mix them. I bought them frozen in town a couple of days ago. I only had to heat them. One side is a bit burnt but they taste ok."

Chakotay laughed softly. "Only one side? I guess you're improving."

Kathryn laughed too. "I guess I am."

Chakotay noticed that the sofa was now horizontal and a quick glance to his side told him there was an extra pillow and blanket beside him.

"I take it I had company last night?"

"Yes," Kathryn answered, "is that ok? With the power failure, I had to sleep in here."

Chakotay smiled, dimples showing. "Perfectly ok. And we definitely need power-failures more often."

Kathryn smiled in return and then turned her attention to his feet. "How are your feet? You suffered some severe frostbite."

"They feel ok...warm."

Kathryn took off his dermal-regenerator socks and was relieved to see healthy looking flesh.

"They look healed," she said. "Let's see how they feel."

As the medical street had instructed, Kathryn applied both pressure and gentle strokes. "Any pain? Soreness?"

"None," he answered. "But they feel a little raw."

"That should go in a couple of days. According to the medical-sheet, sensitivity is normal."

She opened a med-kit that was on the floor and took out a pair of thin after-care socks.

"I just need to put these on you. They'll need to stay on for three days."

As she put the socks on his feet, Chakotay looked at her sadly. She was pale and drawn and didn't look like she'd had a lot of sleep.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry that I crashed the car."

Kathryn pulled up the last sock, re-fixed the blanket over him, and then turned back to him.

"You.have nothing to be sorry for, Chakotay. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I should never have asked you to come out here."

"You didn't ask," he corrected her. "I offered."

"Only so that I wouldn't be alone. The only reason you're here...the only reason you almost died out there last night...is because of me. Everything that happened is my fault."

"No," he argued, "you told me to find somewhere to stay, but I didn't listen. I just..." his voice fell to a whisper. "I just wanted to get to you so badly."

Tears filled Kathryn's eyes. "Oh Chakotay..."

"But I should have stopped. I should have found somewhere to stay."

"It doesn't matter now," she said. "You're here and you're going to be ok. That's all that matters. Let's not think about what could have been, let's just be grateful for what is."

Chakotay nodded and then smiled. "I'll just let you do the driving from now on. Ice-roads clearly don't like me."

"They don't have to," Kathryn said seriously. "I've decided to call it quits."

"You mean looking for Seven in person?"

"Yes. As soon as the weather improves, we're going back to New Richmond."

Chakotay took a sip of water, hardly daring to ask the next question. "What's your new plan?"

"I don't have one. I'm pulling the plug on the whole thing...the search for Seven, the escape, everything."

Chakotay put down his glass and looked at her in concern. "I see. I can't say I don't understand because you've known my feelings since the start, but it isn't like you to quit. What's brought this on? It can't be just what happened last night."

"No," she answered. "I've been feeling this way for a while, ever since Annika Hansen turned out not to be Annika Hansen, maybe even before. What happened last night was just the final straw. I think I've always known that finding a way to escape this world would be impossible, I just...I didn't want to accept that we're stuck here. I felt it was my place, as captain, to get you all home, but a good captain must also know when to draw the line, and I'm drawing the line right here, right now."

"I've never believed we can escape this world," Chakotay said, "but I do believe it's possible to find Tuvok, Seven and the Doctor. Giving up on escaping doesn't have to mean giving up on finding them too."

"I know. And I don't intend to give up completely, I'm just going to do things differently. My father suggested that I hire a private detective and that's what I'm going to do. He or she will know the ways of this world better than I do and will have access to information that I can't get."

"There may be a couple more people from Voyager here too," Chakotay told her. "When I was in New Stockholm, I bumped into Meri Van Darka. She was staying in the same hotel as me. We lost three people in the same battle. We could give a private detective the names of the other two."

"Meri's here?" Kathryn asked in surprise. "It didn't occur to me for a moment that others from Voyager could be here. But if she is, then the others killed in that battle could be too." She absorbed this news for a moment, and then spoke again. "How was Little Miss Attitude Problem? Where does she live?"

"In New Denmark."

"Did she give you an address?"

"No, we parted rather abruptly. But to be honest, I don't think she's interested in renewing our acquaintance. She's got a new life now and is happy."

"You mean my acquaintance," Kathryn inferred. "And it doesn't surprise me. The girl had nothing but disdain for me. She only endured me out of loyalty to you. I doubt she was alone either."

"She suffered a lot at the hands of the Cardassians," Chakotay explained. "It left her very bitter towards the Federation. I don't think her problem was with you personally, it was just what you represented."

"I understand. And I cut her a lot of slack, more so than I would have done in normal circumstances." She paused. "Being in this quadrant was hard for all of us, but I know it was especially hard for you and the other Maquis. Not only were you stranded, but you were stranded on a Starfleet ship."

"It was harder for some than others. It was hard for Meri."

"Did she mention having seen anyone? Seven?"

"No. I was the first person from Voyager that she met."

"I see." She paused. "Maybe Seven's not on this New Earth. Maybe the Doctor isn't either. I've assumed all this time that he is, but he might never have been taken. Maybe they only take humanoids."

"If you detected Seven and Tuvok's lifesigns, they must be here."

"Somewhere, but I think this world has many worlds. How, I don't know, but I think this New Earth is just one of many."

"What makes you think that?"

Kathryn hesitated with the words. "I think I've been in telepathic communication with Tuvok. I can't be sure, but I think it was him. When I was at the Ice-Hotel yesterday, I thought I heard him call to me. His voice was faint, ghostly, but yet I knew it was his voice. I heard him call me several times and I even thought I saw him in a mirror, but I put the experience down to being cold and hungry. I'd skipped breakfast and I didn't each much the night before. But last night I heard him again, in a dream. I don't know if it was real, but it felt real...felt like more than a dream...and I can remember everything vividly. He said his mental abilities are stronger here and he could reach me through our old bond. I asked him where he was and he said on a world called New Vulcan. He said he thinks theCollectors are non-corporeal, that they move amongst us, and are very powerful. I told him that I wanted to get us all home, but he didn't think I could. He said he'd been sensing me for the past few days and wanted to contact me to let me know he was content. I wanted to ask him more questions, wanted to talk longer, but he said he couldn't sustain the link. He wanted to say a last goodbye because it would be too dangerous for us to link again." She paused. "But like I say, it was probably just a dream."

"I don't think so," Chakotay said kindly. "I think it was real. A mind has to be open to receive such messages and the human mind is never so open as when asleep."

"That's what he said."

"And if you heard him at the hotel, it must have been when you were relaxed."

"I guess it was. I didn't have Seven on my mind then, not really. I knew there was little chance of seeing her there. I was just admiring the artwork." She paused. "Tuvok said that Seven might be in a New Collective, but I hope not, Chakotay. She's been through so much and has worked so hard to reclaim her humanity. She doesn't deserve to be a drone again."

"I really doubt there is a New Collective," Chakotay reasoned. "Not only would it be too dangerous to accommodate a cyberforce intent on assimilating everyone, but it would be difficult to achieve as they are a space-faring culture. As Seven is human, I'd say she's on this world. It's the most logical place to put her. If there are lots of worlds here, it seems to me they put people where they can best fit in if their own world hasn't been recreated...hence why Tal Celes is here. There can't be a New Bajor. There can't be a New Bolarus either as I've seen Bolians about."

"I just wish I knew what it's all about. What do these aliens want with us? Why do they have all these new worlds? What's the point of it all? Why go to this much trouble just to watch us? It doesn't make any sense."

"I guess to a more advanced species it's no different to building a zoo. We take animals from their natural habitat, build them an artificial one, and watch them."

"But I just don't understand why they would want to or need to. Why don't they just watch us all in our own worlds?"

"I don't know. But I think the dead have something to do with it. We're thinking of these Collectors as villains, but maybe they're not. Maybe they're just using their abilities to help us."

"By keeping us prisoner?"

"By giving the dead new life. For example, say you had the power to revive dead people, but were prevented by law from interfering in the cultures of others...like our prime directive...what would you do? Would you just let them stay dead or would you try and help somehow?"

"I suppose it would be a dilemma," Kathryn considered, "the kind of dilemma we've often encountered...do we break the prime directive and save the dying or do we keep to the prime directive and let people die? I suppose if there was a way of having the cake and eating it too, then I'd do it. But would I revive people to put them on an unfamiliar world? I don't know about that."

"Only this world isn't unfamiliar," Chakotay reasoned. "It's very familiar."

That answer hit home. "I guess..."

"And they seem to go out of their way to make sure everyone is well cared for."

"They do," she conceded. "I just...if they build these worlds to give a home to our dead, or at least the dead who die before their time, why take living people?"

"Perhaps they don't. Perhaps they only take dead people."

"But you weren't dead. Neither was I."

"Can we really be sure of that? I can't regarding myself. The last thing I remember is losing control of the Delta Flyer. Perhaps we all died."

"If you did, I know I didn't. One moment the Doctor and I were scanning for your lifesigns and the next I was on this world."

"Then maybe they took you for another reason. Maybe because you'd be a security risk. There are always exceptions to the rule." He smiled. "And if someone has to be an exception, we can safely bet on Kathryn Janeway."

Kathryn couldn't help but smile at that. "I suppose it's not impossible. And replacing those taken locally with CBRs would minimize the chance of someone discovering these worlds by coming here to look for their comrades. But it just doesn't quite add up somehow. Why not just leave them dead from what ever they died of? Surely that would be less of a security risk than replacing them with CBRs? And if they replace people with CBRs, isn't that interfering?"

"I don't know," Chakotay replied. "I'm just theorizing."

"I don't suppose we'll ever know the truth," Kathryn concluded, "and I don't suppose it does much good to wonder. Guessing on guesses will never give us a real answer."

"No," he agreed.

Gently, Kathryn reached out and took Chakotay's hands in hers. "But there is one thing I am certain about," she said softly. "And that's how I feel about you. You're the best friend I ever had and I thank my stars every day that you came into my life. I couldn't have got through the Voyager years without you and I don't want to have to get through the rest of my life without you. So many things have been against us, so many obstacles have blocked our path, but we're still here, still together. We've got a chance now to be happy, a chance that only months ago I thought would never come again, and I'd like us to take it."

A tear ran down Chakotay's cheek. "Only say this if you mean it. I couldn't bear it if..."

Kathryn silenced him with a finger on the lips. "I've never meant anything more in my entire life. I love you, Chakotay."

Chakotay put his hand to her cheek. "I love you too. I love you so much."

Kathryn kissed his hand. "And from now on I'm going to love you until you really do think we're in paradise. You've seen the worst of the captain, but you haven't seen the best of Kathryn. And from now on that's what you're going to get, the very best of me."

Another tear ran down Chakotay's cheek and Kathryn slowly lowered her lips to his in a tender kiss.

As her lips touched his, Chakotay closed his eyes and cherished the kiss he had only ever thought would be his in a dream.

"A new journey starts here," Kathryn said when she drew away. "One we're going to share, heart by heart, every step of the way."

Chakotay smiled and linked his hands with hers. "I can't wait."

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR


	25. Chapter 25

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures._

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

"Good afternoon, Admiral," Neelix said as he entered the helm of Kathryn's shuttle. "I believe congratulations are in order. The Doctor tells me you've cracked Q's code."

"I have," Kathryn smiled. "Now all I have to do is apply it." She picked up a padd. "And that's what I'm doing."

"If you don't mind my asking," he asked as she returned to work, "how long will that take?"

"I'm almost done."

A sadness filled Neelix's eyes. "Then I guess you'll be leaving."

"First thing tomorrow."

"I thought so." He paused. "I don't suppose you'll be able to visit with Commander Chakotay and the others...when you've rescued them I mean...before going back to Earth?"

"I don't think so, Neelix. It would take too long. I need to get them back to Earth as soon as possible."

"That's what I thought."

"Strange," Kathryn said, analyzing data before her.

Neelix stepped closer. "What?"

"Aswell as various frequencies, Q's given me a number of lifesign signatures."

"Don't you already have all the signatures you need?"

"That's what's strange." She worked her console. "He must want me to transport these people along with Chakotay and the others, but why?"

"Could they be other people from Voyager?"

"There's no one else from Voyager missing."

"Could be worth checking, just incase Dr Loriska's missed a couple of CBRs."

"I don't think so. Besides, I don't have the crew's lifesigns in my database."

"Maybe they're CBRs then."

"Possibly. Perhaps they don't all have the same lifesign as the person they imitate. There's..." Her words trailed and her face paled at a sudden discovery.

"What is it, Admiral?"

"One is mine," she said quietly.

Neelix's eyes widened. "Then...?"

"Looks like I'm definitely a CBR."

"No," he argued. "It must be her. She's the CBR.You are too much like you."

"Thanks for the reassurance, but I'm betting she's the real McCoy."

"Well I'm not. You're as real as the real Captain Janeway ever was. Even the Doctor thinks so."

"And I thought Chakotay was real, Seven and Tuvok too. But it doesn't matter whether I'm real or not. What matters is getting Chakotay and the others out of there."

"How many of these other lifesigns has Q given you?"

"Excluding myself, five."

"Then they must be CBRs, Admiral. One for each of our five missing friends."

"Probably. Now, if you don't mind, Neelix, I've got a lot of work to do. I want to make sure I've got everything right before we leave."

"I don't mind at all," he said. "But I would mind if you left tomorrow without us having had a chance to say a proper goodbye. I'd like it very much if you would come and spend the evening with Dexa, the Doctor and me. Not only would we get the chance to say goodbye properly but there's something Dexa and I would like to tell you."

Kathryn imputed data into her padd. "I'd love to come. I was going to suggest an evening together myself."

Neelix beamed a smile. "Wonderful, Admiral! How about you come about 19:00 hours?"

"19:00 hours it is."

"Then I'll go and tell Dexa," he said, rubbing his hands together. "And I promise I won't disturb you for the rest of the afternoon."

"Much appreciated. See you later"

"Later," he said, already half way out of the door.

When he was gone, Kathryn lowered the padd in her hand and closed her eyes in despondent thought. She had tried not to think about the possibility of being a CBR, but now it seemed she could not ignore the possibility any longer. In fact, it seemed a likelihood, and that thought was devastating. In every way she felt like Kathryn Janeway, from the tiniest freckle to the most insignificant memory. The thought of being no more than a breathing, bleeding, hologram was terrible. At least the other CBRs had never had to know they were only imitations. They had just gone to sleep for a medical exam and never woken up. That deathly sleep was kind, but this living death was cruel. She would rather die in ignorance like them, than to die with the knowledge of being no more than an expiring shadow.

But it was perhaps too precipitous to condemn herself already. Even though it was unlikely, there was still a chance that this other Kathryn was the CBR. And if there was still a chance, it was still a possibility. And what was still a possibility, could still be believed. Until it was confirmed otherwise, she would go on believing that she was the real Kathryn Janeway, and she would get on with her mission.

* * *

"That was delicious," Kathryn said, licking her fingers after eating a luxurious coffee gateaux. "You've exceeded yourself this time, Neelix."

"Oh I didn't make it," he said. "Dexa did. She's a wonderful cook."

"So it would seem," Kathryn smiled. "That was the best coffee gateaux I've ever tasted."

"It's too bad you can't stay longer," Neelix continued. "She could give you lessons." He then bit his lip. "Not that I'm saying your cooking is awful, nothing like that, just that she could help you to improve...not that I think you need much improvement, that's not what I'm saying, I just..."

Kathryn held up her hand. "It's alright, Neelix, I get the picture. Dexa could give me tips."

"Exactly," Neelix smiled. "Tips, that's it."

"So," the Doctor injected, "what was this all important news you and Dexa wanted to tell us?"

"Something wonderful," Neelix answered. "I can hardly believe it." He got up from his seat and put his hand on Dexa's shoulder. "We're having a baby."

"Oh Neelix," Kathryn said, getting to her feet. "That is wonderful. Congratulations."

She embraced the happy Talaxian and then the mother-to-be.

"I'll say congratulations too," the Doctor smiled. "When is the little one expected?"

"In about five months," Neelix answered. "You're the first to know. We want to keep it quiet, just for the moment. But as you're leaving tomorrow, we wanted to tell you in person."

Kathryn poked Neelix's stomach. "Looks like you've been holding out on me."

"Only for a few days," he said. "And it's been so difficult, Admiral. I want to shout it out everywhere."

"I'm sure you do."

The Doctor spoke again. "If you're interested, I can do a test to find out the baby's gender."

"We already know," Dexa told him. "We're having a girl."

"Excellent," the Doctor teased. "A little you rather than a little Neelix."

Neelix turned to the Doctor, not appreciating the joke. "And what would be wrong with a little Neelix?"

"Nothing," the Doctor answered. "I was just joking."

"I hope so," Neelix replied. "It isn't right to say bad things about a little girl's father in her presence."

"I'm overjoyed for you both," Kathryn said. "This really is wonderful news."

"I keep pinching myself," Neelix replied. "To make sure I'm really awake. I thought I was hearing things when Dexa told me." He paused. "With your permission, Admiral, we'd like to call her Kathryn...Rinny for short."

"Oh Neelix," she answered. "You don't need my permission. I'd be delighted and extremely honored."

"Then Kathryn it is," he smiled. He then fell serious. "I only wish you could see her when she is born."

"I will," she said encouragingly. "You can send me pictures and I can see her when we have our regular talks."

"I know. But it's not the same."

"No," she admitted. "But maybe one day I'll be back here. You never know."

"I suppose it's possible," he said. "You Federation people advance so quickly."

Kathryn put her hand on his shoulder. "I want you to know how grateful I am to you and your people for putting the Doctor and me up over the past few weeks. We desperately needed a haven."

"The pleasure has been all ours," he said sincerely. "Besides, we all owe you."

"Not as much as I owe you for all the years of outstanding service on Voyager. You were the greatest morale officer any captain could have. You really made a difference in the lives of many lonely people."

"I just did what I could to help," he replied. "And I enjoyed every moment." He paused "I just hope you find Chakotay and the others. I really hope you do."

"So do I," Kathryn said, hoping with all her might. "So do I."

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE


	26. Chapter 26

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

TWO WEEKS LATER

In a large bedroom in her father's house, Kathryn stood before a long mirror and held up an elegant white satin dress against her body. The soft material shimmered in the light of a setting sun and Kathryn smiled as she envisioned herself in it marrying Chakotay. Only one more night had to pass, one more dawn, and they would be promising themselves to each other. It was only going to be a small wedding, the total guest-count being four, and the venue was only going to be a local registry office, but it was going to be a wedding nonetheless, and she couldn't wait. For the first time in such a long time, she was following her heart, and it was heavenly.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Kathryn called out.

"Come in!"

The door opened and Barbara Colton, the housekeeper, entered. "Mr and Mrs Willis have arrived," she said.

"I'll be right there," Kathryn smiled. While their first encounter had been frosty, she and the housekeeper had subsequently warmed to each other and now got on like a house on fire.

When Barbara was gone, Kathryn carefully hung up her wedding dress and went to greet Celes and Dieter. They had driven up from New L.A. for the wedding and were staying overnight. So he wouldn't be alone, her father had gone to stay with Chakotay in the apartment they now shared.

"I'm so sorry we're late," Celes said as Kathryn entered the living room. "Something really strange has happened."

On the couch was a wicker basket, and inside it, wrapped in a pink blanket, was a new-born baby Bajoran girl.

"What do we have here?" Kathryn said, going over to the infant. "Whose is she?"

"We don't know," Celes answered. "She was delivered."

Kathryn looked up in surprise. "Delivered?"

"This morning. Dieter and I were having breakfast when the door-bell rang. I went to answer it but there was no one there except this baby in this basket. I ran to the stairs, hoping to see who had left her, but there was no one in sight. Not knowing what else to do, I took her inside." Celes reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a white envelope. "This was in the basket with her."

Kathryn took the envelope, opened it, and pulled out a glossy white card. Printed on it in pretty pink letters were the words: _A bundle of joy for you from the stork._

Celes then held out a bunch of papers. _"_Dieter also found these documents strapped to the basket. They're adoption papers. We're to sign them, if we wish to keep her, and return them to the New Californian Institute of Adoption." She paused. "We thought at first it was some kind of joke...maybe one of those television shows where they play tricks on people...but when Dieter called the Institute, they said it was for real. They'd like us to return the papers as soon as possible so the adoption can go ahead."

"This certainly is strange," Kathryn said, looking again at the sleeping baby. "In fact, it's downright bizarre. I don't suppose anything should surprise me on this world, but I'll admit, I'm surprised."

Dieter spoke now. "We didn't know what else to do except bring her with us. There was no one we could leave her with."

"What do you think is going on?" Celes asked. "Do you think it's all for real?"

"I suppose it must be," Kathryn replied. "But don't ask me for answers. All I can think is that she's been taken by the Collectors and given to you. There aren't a lot of Bajorans here."

"I suppose that would explain it," Celes considered. "But why would they take a baby?"

"I don't know. Maybe she died and they revived her. Or maybe her mother was pregnant with her when she died and they could only revive the baby."

"I guess." She paused. "Do you think we should keep her?"

"Do you want to keep her?"

"We do," Celes said sincerely.

Kathryn smiled warmly. "Then looks like you've got yourself a daughter."

* * *

In a sun-bathed, oak panelled room, Kathryn and Chakotay stood before an elderly male registrar and made vows of marriage to each other. Chakotay was smartly dressed in a white suit that complimented Kathryn's dress and she had polished her appearance with satin-shoes and pearl jewelry. Behind them, Dieter stood with gold rings on a white cushion, while Edward stood with Barbara and watched with moist eyes as his daughter was married. In a shaded corner, newly named Baby Tamora slept peacefully in her basket, and Celes stood close by.

When the last vows were made, and the wedding rings exchanged, the registrar closed a book before him and smiled warmly.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Kathryn and Chakotay smiled at each other happily and then sealed their union with a tender kiss.

"May your days together be long and joyful," the registrar continued. "And may you always remember this day with delight."

Suddenly, gold and silver confetti rained on them from a high ceiling, shimmering and sparkling as they caught the light, and the newly weds laughed.

"Congratulations," Celes said, adding to the glitter by throwing a handful of shiny rainbow flakes over the bride and groom. "I'm so happy for you both."

Kathryn smiled. "Thank you, Celes."

Edward stepped forward. "Congratulations, both of you."

Kathryn embraced her father, wrapping her arms tight around his neck. "I'm so glad you're here, Daddy."

Edward held his daughter in return and kissed her hair. "Your mother's here too, and Phoebe...in our hearts. Those we love are always with us in our hearts."

Kathryn nodded and they held each other close a while. Then Edward drew away and embraced Chakotay.

"Welcome to the Janeway family."

"Thank you," Chakotay smiled. "It's a great honor."

Celes handed Kathryn a glittering gold bag. "Presents," she said. "For you to open later."

Before Kathryn could thank her, Barbara spoke.

"There's a parcel in there from me too," she said. "Just something little."

"You're all so kind," Kathryn smiled. "Thank you."

Edward reached into a pocket of his jacket and pulled out a little silver box decorated with a gold ribbon. "This is also a little something to mark the occasion."

Kathryn took the gift gratefully and popped it into the bag.

As she did so, the registrar stepped forward. "Would you like me to take a photograph? A photo of the bride and groom is complimentary."

"We would," Kathryn smiled.

In no time at all, she and Chakotay were in position, and a bright light dazzled them as a small camera captured their image.

* * *

Sitting on a large canopied bed in a Hawaiian hotel room, Kathryn and Chakotay opened their wedding presents. From Celes and Dieter there were his'n hers bathrobes, matching slipper-socks, underwear, key-rings, and swimwear, and from Barbara there was a pair of luxurious white towels. Kathryn had wanted to leave her father's present until last and she opened it now, carefully untying the gold ribbon and taking off the lid. Inside the small box, resting on a letter, was a gold key.

"My guess is a car," she said, taking out the letter. "He knows we could do with one each." She read the letter, expecting her suspicion to be confirmed, but it was not. Tears welled in her eyes and she looked up at Chakotay. "He's given us the house."

"He has?"

She nodded. "He says he's got himself a luxury retirement apartment...that the house is too big for him. He says he'd like us to have it."

"Quite a present," Chakotay said, absorbing this. The house had to be worth over a million dollars.

"We can't take it," she said. "It's his home."

"I think we should," Chakotay replied. "He wouldn't give it to us unless he really wanted to, and he's told me several times in the past that he'd like a smaller place. I think it would really hurt him if we didn't accept his gift thankfully."

"I suppose you're right," she considered. "And it is a great house, isn't it?"

"It sure is," he smiled. "I can just see us both sitting by the pool having breakfast and dining on the terrace."

"So can I...though hopefully it's not my cooking you're seeing as that would quite mar the scene."

Chakotay laughed softly.

Kathryn got to her feet. "I'll call him and thank him."

"You might want to wait until morning," Chakotay told her, "it's pretty late in New Richmond."

"Of course," Kathryn said, putting down the box, "I forgot." She then climbed back onto the bed and gazed at Chakotay, her eyes sparkling. "But the night is still young here."

"It certainly is," Chakotay smiled.

"The only question," she said, edging closer until her lips were almost touching his, "is how are we going to spend it?"

Chakotay slipped his arm around her. "How indeed?"

Their lips them met in a passionate kiss and they sank softly into satin sheets.

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY SIX


	27. Chapter 27

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

EIGHT DAYS LATER

"I don't understand why Q has given us specific times to beam everyone up," the Doctor said, sitting beside Kathryn at the helm. "There's almost three hours between the first and last transport."

"There could be all kinds of reasons," Kathryn answered. "For example, from the transport co-ordinates he's given us, there are wide distances between our missing comrades. Chakotay and my counterpart are over five thousand miles away from Seven. Tuvok is further away still. They might be in different time-zones and we don't want to beam them up while they're sleeping." She smiled. "Or worse, attending to the calls of nature. Q's also given us a frequency to mask our transporter beam and there's little point in us masking it if we beam them out in a public place."

"As always you're the fount of wisdom," the Doctor replied. "I just hope the cloaking frequency Come-And-Gone-Zallus has given us works this time. Not to mention all the transporter frequencies. If they're wrong, our missing friends will be orbit dust. I don't have to remind you that our last rescue attempt was a complete shambles thanks to him."

"We can only trust him," she said. "And yes, I know...there's no 'q' in the word trust. But he's our only hope and we have to do or die. These Collectors are just out of our league."

"It wouldn't surprise me if he's behind it all," the Doctor surmised. "I can just imagine him getting kicks out of sending us on a galactical goose chase." He sighed. "I suppose I'm going to have to give up my cabin. With fourteen humanoids to house, we're going to be over run."

"There should be more than enough beds to go around without disturbing your haven. Remember, three of the cabins have two bunk-beds and three more have twin beds."

Suddenly, a series of bleeps sounded.

"What's that?" the Doctor asked.

"The Axawhatever detector Q gave us," Kathryn said, studying the screen before her. "It's detecting some kind of frequency directly ahead. But the frequency is very low...too low for our regular scanners to detect it." She worked the console."I'm trying to amplify it."

"What do you think it could be?"

"I don't know. It's getting stronger the closer we get, but still too faint to analyze, even at maximum amplification. It's pretty scattered too, making it impossible to determine an origin. I don't think it's anything we need to worry about, but to be on the safe side, I'll raise shields and alter course."

The Doctor reclined in his chair. "I'll be glad when all this is over."

"Well, hopefully it will be soon."

"How far away are we now?"

"Just over seven light years. When we get to five, I'm going to reduce speed, otherwise we'll get there way ahead of schedule." Q had given them a specific stardate to transport aswell as times. "I'd rather us be moving slowly than standing still."

"Agreed."

Kathryn got to her feet and headed for the replicator. "Time for a coffee."

"You ingest far too much caffeine," the Doctor warned. "How about an orange juice for a change? Regular intake of vitamin c is crucial to health."

"I'll have a glass for dinner," she appeased him. "Right now, I need a coffee-fix." She addressed the replicator. "Coffee, black."

In seconds, a cup of steaming black coffee materialized. Kathryn picked it up and almost reverently put it to her mouth and took a sip. "It really is the finest organic suspension ever devised."

Suddenly, a violent jolt of the ship threw Kathryn against the replicator and the cup of coffee in her hands fell to the floor, smashing into pieces. Lights flickered madly and a deafening screech filled the air.

"What's happening?" the Doctor asked.

"I don't know," Kathryn said, struggling to get to her feet. "Get us out of..."

But before she could finish her sentence, another jolt shook the ship and she collapsed unconscious to the floor.

The Doctor, flickering himself, got to his feet in alarm. "Admiral..."

A computerized voice then spoke. "Warning, shields at critical. Warning, cloak is failing. Warning, life-support is unstable."

Making a split second judgment call, the Doctor turned back to the helm and took over controls. As quickly as he could he got the ship to maximum warp and did his best to re-route all available power to the failing systems.

Then, as suddenly as it had come, the chaos stopped. Lights returned to normal and all systems stabilized.

Wanting to keep ahead of whatever had engulfed them, the Doctor put the ship on auto-pilot and let it soar through the space ahead at maximum warp. He then left the helm to attend to Kathryn. She was lying unconscious on the floor, her right arm above her bleeding head. Anxiously, the Doctor put his hand to her neck and searched for a pulse, but the flesh beneath his fingers was still. He pressed harder, searched wider, but there was no sign of life. The Admiral was dead.

* * *

With holographic tears in his eyes, the Doctor sat at Kathryn's bedside and held her hand in his. He had managed to revive her, but her injuries were so severe that there was no hope of recovery. She was only breathing now with assistance, and the consciousness she was presently regaining would be all too brief.

Slowly, her eyes opened, and then, as though sight was painful, she closed them again.

"It's me," the Doctor said, squeezing her hand. "The Doctor."

Kathryn opened her mouth to speak, but the word "Doctor" barely escaped her lips.

"I've done everything I can," he said quietly, "but without a sickbay and specialist equipment there's nothing more I can do. I'm so sorry."

Kathryn understood his meaning and wasted no time in getting to what was on her mind. "You must...find...Chakotay..and...the others. You...must...get...them...home."

"How could Q let this happen?" the Doctor asked, unmistakable anger in his tone. "How?"

"I'm...C..B..R. You...must...go...on. Get...them...home..."

"I don't know if I can. Not alone..."

Kathryn squeezed his hand as tight as she could. "You...can. You...must. Every...thing...you...need...you...have. Promise...me..."

A holographic tear ran down the Doctor's cheek. "I'll do my best," he whispered. "I promise." What else could he say?

Kathryn gave a weak smile. "You'll...do...it. I...know..."

Her hold on his hand then weakened and her head drooped to the side as she lost consciousness.

For a long while the Doctor just gazed her, his whole being aching with profound grief. Then he switched off life-support and watched as his former captain and friend slipped away.

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN


	28. Chapter 28

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

Sitting in a sunny corner of Waterway Cafe, Kathryn poured herself a coffee while Chakotay stirred sugar into his.

"There's a Shakespeare Ball being held tonight," she said, filling her cup to the brim. "At Rosemount Hotel. Everyone attending must dress up as a character from the plays and there's going to be medieval music and food."

"Sounds like it could be fun," Chakotay replied. "I'm curious to see how medieval history on this world compares to ours."

"So am I. It's so weird how time-frames are so mixed up here, but I guess they would be." She took a sip of her coffee. "From what I gather, Shakespeare's plays didn't appear here until five hundred years ago. I wonder how that happened? I guess by our nineteenth century the plays were so famous that they had to be made a part of this copy-cat culture. I suppose _The Collectors_ stole copies or actors wrote them from memory."

"It is intriguing how they got here," Chakotay agreed. "All the classics are here. Many other books from our history too. I remember wondering how they got here when I worked at the library."

Kathryn put down her coffee. "I'd love to go to the ball. Will you come?"

"That depends," he smiled.

"On what?"

"Who you'd like us to go as."

Kathryn smiled, knowing that meant he would come. "Theseus and Hippolyta."

"Not Romeo and Juliet?" he teased.

"Somehow I don't think we'd pass for the star-crossed lovers," she laughed. "We're some three decades too old. But Theseus and Hippolyta are just perfect. Not only are they mature lovers, but they were once warriors and are newly weds...well, by the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream anyway."

Chakotay reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a gold envelope. "It's a good thing then I've got us tickets."

Kathryn gazed at him in surprise. "You have?"

Chakotay nodded. "I got them at the library desk while you were choosing books."

He offered the envelope to her and Kathryn took it gratefully. "But how did you know about the ball or know I'd want to go?"

"I saw you looking at the poster and saw the way your eyes lit up as you read it." He gestured to the envelope. "Open it."

Kathryn carefully opened the glittering envelope and pulled out two silver tickets. On one, printed in large flourishing gold letters, was the name 'Hippolyta' and on the other 'Theseus'.

Kathryn looked up at him incredulously. "But how...?"

"Call it a lucky guess."

"Maybe Tuvok's wrong," she joked. "Maybe this world does create psychic ability." She smiled warmly. "Thank you."

Chakotay smiled in return, her happiness contenting him. "That's what husbands are for."

* * *

Dressed in a gold armor bodice over black hotpants, high gold boots, and long black wristbands, Kathryn carefully fixed a gold tiara over her now shoulder length hair.

"Wow," Chakotay said, emerging from the bathroom after a shower. "You look amazing."

Kathryn turned to him with a smile. "Not exactly what I had in mind when I told the shop to send an amazon queen costume, but it will have to suffice. I just wish I felt more like Hippolyta and less like Wonder Wonder."

Chakotay smiled and kissed her cheek. "You are a wonder woman."

"Careful, mister," Kathryn replied, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Flattery might get you everywhere."

They laughed softly, kissed, and then Kathryn went over to the bed. Chakotay's costume, which consisted of a white tunica, red cloak, and brown sandals, was laid out and she picked up the tunica.

"If there's a ball next year," she said, "I'm going to plan our costumes well ahead of time. In this Roman outfit, you're going to look more like Julius Caesar than Theseus."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Kathryn put down the tunica and turned around.

"Come in!"

The door opened and Barbara, who had remained as housekeeper, came in.

"These just arrived by fax," she said, showing Kathryn a pile of papers. "I thought I'd bring them up."

Kathryn went over to her and took the bundle. "Thank you."

As she glanced through the papers, Barbara looked at Kathryn's costume in critical bewilderment. "You did say you were going to a Shakespeare ball, didn't you?"

"That's right," Kathryn answered. "I'm Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons."

Barbara frowned. "I never realized Hippolyta was meant to be so...so naked."

"She isn't," Kathryn smiled. "And neither was I. But this costume's better than nothing."

"I hope you won't be cold, dear. It's only just turned spring."

"Oh, there's a knee-length gold cape too. I'll be fine."

"Well," Barbara smiled. "I hope you have a wonderful time."

"Thank you. And thanks for bringing up the fax."

"You're welcome," she said, taking the door handle so she could close the door behind her. "I'll see you both tomorrow. I'm off home now."

"Ok," Kathryn smiled. "Goodnight."

When Barbara was gone, Kathryn looked again at the papers in her hand.

"They're from Susan," she told Chakotay. Susan was the private detective they had hired.

Chakotay closed the gap between them. "Developments?"

"Absolutely. She's sent me the home addresses of all Annika Hansens currently living in Sweden."

"Looks like there's a lot...if the amount of sheets are anything to go by."

"Over a hundred, it seems. Which sure makes me glad I didn't seek them all out on foot. I'd still be looking."

"Are you going to phone them?"

"No, it would take forever. And the time-difference makes things too awkward. I'll write to them. All I've got to do then is mail multiple copies of a single letter."

"I'll help. I'm sure your father will too."

Kathryn smiled. "Thank you. Between us we'll get them done in no time."

* * *

Beneath a silver moon and twinkling stars, Kathryn and Chakotay walked through a quiet garden of Rosemount Hotel. Lamps lit the way to an artificial lake that glittered in the warm moonlight and sweet music charmed the air.

"It's so beautiful and peaceful here," Kathryn said, looking out at the shining water. "It's so hard to believe this isn't the real earth. The longer I'm here, the more this place feels like home. I almost forget we're on an alien world."

"Me too," Chakotay confessed.

"I wonder if there'll come a time when we will forget completely. In some ways, I envy those who have... they don't think about all they've left behind. But in other ways, I fear becoming like them. I don't ever want to forgot the real Earth, don't ever want to forgot those I love who live on it."

"You never will," Chakotay reassured her. "As your father said, those we love are always with us in our heart. And if they're always in our heart, they're always with us. It's been almost ten years since the Cardassians killed my family, but they're still alive in my heart and always will be."

Kathryn turned to him. "I wish I could have known them."

"You do...through me. Just like I know your mother, Aunt Martha and Phoebe through you."

Kathryn looked up at the glorious sky. "Do you think it's real...this world...or do you think it's holographic?"

"Holographic, at least for the most part. But it could be real too. These Collectors may have abilities similar to Q." He put a gentle hand on Kathryn's shoulder. "It is ok...to think of this place as home. It is our home now and I hope a happy one."

Kathryn nodded. "I am happy. Very happy. And from now on, my home is where you are."

Chakotay brushed his fingers against her cheek. "Same here." He then smiled, dimples showing. "Dance with me."

Kathryn laughed. "Here?"

"There's no one around."

"No," Kathryn said, stepping into his arms. "They're all inside eating chicken, pig and cow." They began to dance slowly, swaying softly to the music. " I'm sorry. I should have known a medieval banquet would mean a meat-fest. Not a place a vegetarian wants to be."

"I've had a great time," Chakotay assured her. "And there's bound to be something I can eat."

"I've had a great time too. But I'm sure I'll pay for it tomorrow. My feet are already aching. I haven't danced this much since...I can't remember how long since." She stopped swaying and slipped her arms around his neck. "How about we steal away with a bottle of mead, grab a chinese-to-go, and have our own banquet at home?"

"Sounds good. Then we can take a soak in the jacuzzi and I'll give you a massage."

Kathryn smiled. "What are we waiting for? Let's go."

They drew apart and were just about to start walking when a blue transporter beam engulfed them and they disappeared.

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT


	29. Chapter 29

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

When Kathryn and Chakotay rematerialized, they found themselves standing face to face with the Doctor.

"Admiral," he smiled. "Commander. Welcome."

Neither Kathryn or Chakotay spoke, just stood in stunned silence on the bridge transporter pad.

"That's a peculiar outfit you have on, Commander," the Doctor said, studying curiously Chakotay's Roman attire. "And you, Admiral. Are they fashionable on this alien world?"

When he got no answer, the Doctor sighed. "Well, don't both rush to thank me all at once for rescuing you."

Kathryn's mind began to engage now and she spoke. "I'm sorry, Doctor. I just...we weren't expecting to be rescued."

"Nor Dieter Willis, Tal Celes, Tuvok, Joe Carey, or Kiera. By the thanks coming my way, anyone would think you all didn't want to be rescued."

Kathryn ignored his last sarcastic comment, all her attention being on his first words. "They're here?" she asked. "All of them?"

"Yes. Your father too."

"We thought that Kiera might have been taken, but it didn't cross our minds that Joe might have been too." She smiled. "I'm so glad he is." There was one person, however, that the Doctor hadn't mentioned. "What about Seven?" she asked. "Is she here?"

"Not yet. Q has given me specific times to beam everyone up and she, with who I presume is Meri Van Darka, is last."

"I gather then Q has helped you to rescue us?"

"Yes...if you wish to call his shenanigans help."

"What happened after I was taken? Was I replaced with a CBR?"

A sadness filled the Doctor's eyes as he remembered his recent loss. "Yes."

"I see," Kathryn replied, unsettled yet intrigued. "Is she here too?"

"She died," the Doctor announced quietly. "Four days ago. On our way to rescue you we encountered some kind of anomaly and she was fatally injured."

So, she would never get to meet this other self. And, strangely, Kathryn felt disappointed at that.

"But she didn't suffer," the Doctor went on. "Not much. It all happened so quickly and her end was peaceful."

"What have you done with her body? You haven't put her into space, have you?"

The Doctor was offended at that. "What do you take me for, Admiral? She's in the cargo bay."

"Just making sure. We don't want to alert _The Collectors_ to our presence. Presumably Q's given you a new cloaking frequency?"

"Yes. And transporter frequencies so our beam-outs are masked."

"Excellent."

"As soon as we have Seven and Meri, we can leave. That is providing Q delivers the promised wormhole."

"He'd better. I take it the plan is to leave the CBRs on New Earth?"

The Doctor frowned. "CBRs?"

"The other Chakotays and the other Tal Celes we detected. It's better that they stay on New Earth. They'll only be destroyed if we take them back with us."

"I wasn't sure for a moment who you meant," he confessed. "But they're already onboard."

"They are?"

"Yes." He gestured to a door behind him. "I'll introduce you to them. You can then discuss whether or not to send them back. That is if a beam-out frequency can also beam-in."

"Before we send anyone back," Kathryn said, stepping off the transporter pad, "I'd like to get everyone off that world."

"If you're referring to Seven and Meri, they're not due to be transported for another hour. As I said, Q has given me specific times, right down to a fraction of a second, and we can't jeopardize everyone's safety by transporting ahead of schedule. I've set up auto-transport so they'll be beamed up at the exact right time. I've also programmed a ship wide alert five minutes before so I can be here when they arrive."

"Good thinking. And well done, Doctor. It can't have been easy having to do all this alone."

"Oh," he said dismissively, "water off a duck's back."

"I'll take your word for it," Kathryn replied, not quite believing him. "Now, is my room still my room?"

"Yes. And I've sorted out all the sleeping arrangements. You and Chakotay together...which brings me to say congratulations on your marriage..."

"Thank you," Kathryn said sincerely.

"Your father alone," he continued, "Tuvok and Joe Carey together, Kiera and Meri together, Tal Celes and Dieter together, and Seven alone because of her installed alcove."

"I take it the other rooms are shared between you and the CBRs?"

"Yes."

"It's going to be weird," Kathryn considered, "having two other Chakotays and another Celes onboard. I hope they will want to go back to New Earth. I don't want to take them on a journey of death."

"Shall we go to them now?" The Doctor asked.

Kathryn smiled. "Chakotay and I should change into something more befitting an admiral and commander first."

"That won't be necessary."

"How do you mean?"

The Doctor gestured to the door again. "See for yourselves."

He walked over to the door, opened it, and disappeared into a narrow corridor beyond. Kathryn followed him, but Chakotay stayed on the pad, a sad and silent figure. Kathryn turned to him and the pain in his eyes knifed her heart. She went over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"What is it? Are you worried you're a CBR? Because I'm absolutely sure you're not."

"No," he said quietly. "I'm just..." Tears filled his eyes. "What does this mean...for us?"

Kathryn understood his vague words. "Nothing," she said sincerely. "Nothing is going to change between us. We're not on Voyager anymore. All the barriers that existed between us have long gone."

The pain in Chakotay's eyes eased a little. "I couldn't bear to lose you."

Kathryn took his hands in hers. "And you're not going too. I promise. There may be a few raised eyebrows at Starfleet Command when we get back, but I don't give a damn about that." She smiled warmly. "Now, let's go and meet your counterparts and try to persuade them to stay on this world."

Chakotay nodded with a smile and they followed the Doctor out of the bridge. In the corridor, the Doctor was waiting for them outside one of the smaller bedrooms, and beckoned them inside.

"Admiral, Commander," he said, "Meet Chakotay two and three."

Kathryn stepped into the room first and her eyes widened at the sight before her. Instead of two adult Chakotays, there were two tiny babies fast asleep in two metal cots. One was wrapped in a blue blanket, the other a yellow.

"They're...they're babies," Kathryn exclaimed.

"That's right," the Doctor answered. "I believe they're clones of the Commander."

Kathryn stepped closer to the cots and looked down at the sleeping infants. They both had fluffy black hair, silky brown skin, and were identical in weight and appearance.

"The Willis baby is a clone too," the Doctor informed her. "Of Tal Celes."

As Kathryn tried to absorb this, a young lookalike came to her mind. "Warren," she said, turning to the Doctor. "Justin's son. He looked exactly like him...the perfect image."

Chakotay, who was also looking at the babies, spoke. "He may have been a clone too."

It seemed almost a certainty, Kathryn thought. But if he was, if he'd been delivered like Tamora, why hadn't her father told her? Or did he not know? Maybe Justin hadn't told him.

"They're a couple of weeks below full-term," the Doctor went on, "but in perfect health and able to breathe unaided."

"We can't send them back," Kathryn said, looking again at the sleeping babies. "Warren was his own person, an individual. These babies will grow up to be their own person too. All sentient individuals have an intrinsic right to life in the Federation. They can't be harmed."

"No, but it could still be in their best interest to send them back," the Doctor reasoned. "If I'm wrong, and they're a juvenile CBR not a clone, the Federation might order their destruction."

"We'll just have to hedge all our bets on them being sentient," Kathryn declared. She turned to Chakotay. "Do you agree?"

"Yes," he answered. "If Warren and Tamora were given to the person they were cloned from, it stands to reason these babies were going to be given to us. If we're not there, who knows what will become of them. Maybe they'll be adopted out to someone else, but they could be destroyed too."

"Then decision made," Kathryn smiled. "As soon as Seven and Meri are onboard, we're all going home."

END OF CHAPTER TWENTY NINE


	30. Chapter 30

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures._

CHAPTER THIRTY

When it was time for Seven and Meri to be transported, Kathryn waited with the Doctor for them to arrive. While she had decided against wearing her Starfleet uniform, given the unofficial nature of her mission, she had changed into sober black pants with a matching blouse. It seemed kind of ironic that the one person she had been unable to find on New Earth, despite her best efforts, was now coming to her. But that seemed to be typical of this entire mission: she found when she was not seeking.

At last, a blue light appeared before them, and two female figures materialized. It was surprising how similar Seven and Meri looked in silhouette and it wasn't until they were fully material that Kathryn could tell them apart. Even then it took a moment as both women were dressed in ordinary clothes and both had their long blonde locks loose over their shoulders.

"Welcome aboard," the Doctor smiled.

Both Seven and Meri reacted the same way she and Chakotay had reacted...with stunned silence.

Looking at Seven, Kathryn noticed there was something different, something more than the hair and the clothes. It was...it was her facial implants. They were gone.

"Seven," the Doctor said, stepping onto the pad. "Your implants...they've gone."

Kathryn smiled at the former drone warmly. "It's good to see you, Seven."

Seven made no reply, but Meri yelled. "I demand a return transport!"

Kathryn turned to the troublesome ex-Maquis officer. "Hello to you too, Meri."

"Did you hear what I said? I want to go back."

"Yes," Kathryn replied. "I heard you. But I think we need to discuss this."

"There's nothing to discuss. I want to go back."

"On the contrary, there's everything to discuss. If we leave you here, that's it, you're here forever."

Meri's face hardened with angry resentment. "You have no right to stop me going back! It's my life! And I have a damn good one on that planet, a hell of a lot better than I ever had on Voyager or will get in the Federation! You already ruined my life once by getting us stranded in this damn quadrant, you have no right to ruin it twice!"

"I'm only thinking of what's best for you," Kathryn said calmly.

"Liar," Meri cried. "You only ever think about what's best for yourself! I demand to be returned! I demand to be returned right now!"

Suddenly, unexpectedly, Seven spoke. "I too wish to be returned."

At those words, Kathryn's stomach sank. A tantrum from Meri she had half expected, she had dealt with several in the past, but not for a moment had she thought she'd hear those words from Seven.

Meri folded her arms defiantly. "Looks like you've got a mutiny on your hands. My, my, what is Janeway genius going to do?"

Kathryn looked back at the ex-Maquis, irritation rising. "If you want to go back, Meri, fine, be my guest." She turned to the Doctor. "Doctor, configure a return transport for Meri."

The Doctor leap anxiously off the transporter pad. "But we don't know if the frequency will work. We'll need to..."

"If it beams out, it'll beam in. Do it." She then turned to Seven. "You and I will talk this over."

"I am resolved." Seven said firmly.

"This is not up for discussion," Kathryn replied. "We are discussing this."

Meri intervened. "She's not your captain anymore, Seven, you don't have to listen to her. Hell, she never was your captain. Don't let her bully you like she bullies everyone."

"Authority is not domination," Kathryn responded, determined to stay cool. "Perhaps one day you will learn that submission is not always subordination."

Meri looked over at the Doctor, who was working a console. "Is that transport ready yet? I'm getting an earache."

"Almost," he replied. "But I would advise you to listen to the Admiral and..."

"And nothing," Meri interrupted. "You, Chakotay, and whoever else is here may be her dogs on leashes, but not me. I'm a wild cat and I like my freedom."

The Doctor addressed Kathryn. "The transport is ready, Admiral."

"Thank God," Meri said. "Get on with it."

Kathryn couldn't help but feel sorry for Meri, as annoying as she was. Behind the resentment was immense pain, more pain than anyone should have to endure.

"I'm sorry," Kathryn said kindly, "that you were unhappy on Voyager. I hope that you will be happy in your new life. I really mean that."

"I already am," Meri replied sharply.

"Then I'll say goodbye," Kathryn said sadly. She then addressed the Doctor. "Energize."

In seconds, blue light engulfed Meri and she was gone.

"The transport was successful," the Doctor said moments later. "Meri arrived safely."

Kathryn turned to Seven. "I can understand Meri wanting to go back, but why would you want to?"

"Because I have a life on New Earth which contents me," Seven told her.

"Couldn't you build a life for yourself on the real Earth that would content you?"

"Perhaps, but I will never have the liberty on the real Earth that I do on this one."

"How do you mean?"

"In the Federation, I will always be Seven of Nine, a Borg drone. Here I am only Annika Hansen. No one knows I was ever a Borg drone and no one counts my life of any consequence. I am not famous and I am left to my own devices."

"You can be Annika Hansen back in the Federation too. It was your choice to be called Seven. If you wish to be called Annika, I will gladly call you that."

"What I wish is to be returned to New Earth."

The Doctor spoke now. "But what about us, your friends? Don't you want to be with your friends?"

"I have friends on New Earth. In fact, I have a very special friend."

"I see," Kathryn said, things beginning to look a little clearer. "Would I be right in thinking this is a male friend?"

Seven was a moment in answering. "Yes. His name is Jon. We live and study together in New Stockholm. We're both training to be science teachers."

Kathryn looked at the former drone sadly. Seven had clearly developed an emotional attachment to this man and Kathryn knew only too well how often the head yields to the heart. If it was a choice between her lover and her friends, her lover would win.

"Perhaps this Jon can come back with us," she suggested. There would likely be traces of his DNA on Seven and from that his lifesign could be isolated.

"Impossible," Seven bluntly replied. "He has family on New Earth."

"And you have family on the real Earth."

"They do not know me, or I them."

The Doctor injected. "You can get to know them."

"I do not wish to. I wish to stay on this planet with Jon."

"It's a gigantic decision," Kathryn continued. "As I said to Meri, if we leave you behind, we can't ever come back for you."

"I am aware of that. It does not change my resolve. I wish to be with Jon." She paused. "I am grateful for everything you have done for me, but unlike you, I have nothing in the Federation to go back to."

"That's not true," the Doctor argued. "There is so much waiting for you in the Federation, so many opportunities."

"The Doctor's right," Kathryn said. "There are a lot of opportunities for you in the Federation. Far more opportunities than exist for you on this world. You're intelligent, beautiful, you can do anything you want, even join Starfleet."

"I do not wish to join Starfleet," Seven stated. "Until now, space is all I've ever known. And all my life, other people have decided my fate. It was not my choice to study the Borg, it was not my choice to be assimilated, and it was not my choice to be liberated from the Collective. When I asked you to send me back, you said I was not capable of making that decision for myself at that time. I agree with you, I was not. But you also said that if, when I was capable of making that decision, I chose to go back to the Borg, you would permit it. I am now capable of making my own decisions, and my decision is to stay on this world. If you respect my individuality and respect your own promise, you will not deny me this request."

Tears welled in Kathryn's eyes. She couldn't deny that this was Seven's decision to make and she couldn't deny her own promise. And neither did she want to go back on her word, but the thought of never seeing Seven again hurt.

"I just don't want you to make a decision you will regret," she said. "And, as a friend, I don't want to lose you."

"Nor I," the Doctor echoed sadly.

"But if you really want to stay on this planet," Kathryn continued. "You have my support and my blessing."

A ghost of a smile crossed Seven's face. "Thank you." She then turned to the Doctor. "Doctor?"

The Doctor could only give a reluctant nod.

"Then it appears we are in agreement," Seven said. "You will return me to New Earth."

The Doctor spoke in one last attempt to prevent what seemed to be the inevitable. "I think you should take some time to think about it. As the Admiral said, it's a big decision."

"Might be a good idea," Kathryn agreed. "We can't hang around in this space too long, as the longer we're here the greater the chance of _The Collectors _detecting us, but we can stay for another day or so. Why don't you take a couple of days to decide?"

"I am already resolved. I wish to return immediately."

"Tuvok is here, Chakotay, Tal Celes and others you knew on Voyager," the Doctor said. "Wouldn't you like to say goodbye?"

"I do not believe prolonging our parting would make it any easier. Also, the sooner I am gone, the sooner you may resume your journey."

Kathryn stepped closer. "Are you really sure about this? Absolutely sure?"

"I am."

Kathryn put her hand on Seven's arm. "Then I won't ask again."

Seven's eyes moistened. "I will...miss you."

Instinctively, Kathryn put her arms around Seven and embraced her. "I'll miss you too," she said. "Very much."

Slowly, hesitantly, Seven returned the embrace and they held each other close.

When at last they parted, Seven turned to the Doctor. "You may embrace me too, Doctor."

With holographic tears in his eyes, the Doctor did as she asked. As they embraced, Kathryn watched sadly. She knew just how much the Doctor cared about Seven. Letting her go like this was no doubt even harder for him than it was for herself.

At last they drew apart and Seven positioned herself on the pad. "I am ready now."

Not comfortable asking the Doctor to transport her, Kathryn went over to the console and prepared the transport herself. Just before activating it, she said one final goodbye.

"I wish you every happiness and success in your new life. Just promise me one thing."

Seven questioned. "What's that?"

"Never to forget us...to always keep a place for us and Voyager in your heart."

"I will," Seven said sincerely. "And I hope you will do the same."

The Doctor answered. "Always."

Kathryn gave a sad smile. "Goodbye, Annika."

"Goodbye," Seven replied.

Kathryn then initiated transport, and in seconds Seven was gone.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTY


	31. Chapter 31

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures._

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

Alone in her bedroom, Kathryn sat on her bed and gazed out at stars flying by at warp speed. New Earth was now millions of miles away, but it would be millions more before they could expect Q to deliver the promised wormhole. He would not generate one so close to civilization. The events of the past couple of hours, just like the events of the past few months, seemed surreal, like they weren't really happening. It was hard to believe that in the space of two hours she had been rescued, reunited with Seven, and parted with her for good. As Kathryn looked out at the stars, she couldn't help wonder if finding Seven in New Sweden would have made a difference to how things had turned out. Perhaps then she wouldn't have wanted to stay.

Suddenly, the doors slid open and Chakotay came in.

"The Doctor told me what happened," he said, walking over to her. "I'm sorry."

"So am I," Kathryn replied, her eyes still focussed on the stars. "There was so much waiting for her in the Federation. More than she'll ever know now. But I had to respect her decision. What else could I do? She would never have forgiven me if I had stopped her going back. And it's not as if she was only on that world five minutes. She was there almost nine months. That's a long time to spend anywhere. She's bound to have made friends and built her own life." She paused sadly. "I just hope she's made the right decision."

"I think she has," Chakotay said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "There may have been a lot of opportunities for her in the Federation, but she would never have been able to live a normal life. She would always have been the woman back from the Borg. She'd have been a symbol of hope yet a symbol of fear at the same time. But on New Earth, she'll get to live her life out of the public eye and will be truly free to express herself as she wishes."

"I know," Kathryn conceded. "I just...when I think of never seeing her again..." Tears filled her eyes but she fought to suppress them.

Gently, Chakotay reached out and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"All these years," Kathryn continued, "all I ever thought about was getting the crew home. I never thought how hard it would be to say goodbye."

"I don't think any of us did," Chakotay said kindly. "We became a family on Voyager and we never thought how the one thing we were striving for would break us up. But that's what happens in families. People move away, children grow up and fly the nest, and while we say a final goodbye to someone we love, someone else is born." He paused. "A parent's responsibility is to raise a child to adulthood so he or she can make their own way in the world. And that's what you did with Seven. When she was first severed from the Collective, she was barely more than a child in what she understood or knew of humanity. But with your help, she blossomed into an independent woman capable of making her own decisions. You should be really proud of what you did for her. She's no longer a Borg drone but a happy woman with a bright future ahead of her."

Kathryn nodded. "I am proud...of everything she has become. I just...I'm going to miss her."

Chakotay caressed Kathryn's arm. "Would you like a hug?"

Kathryn tensed a little at those words. "No," she said. "Thank you."

Chakotay looked at her sadly. Whenever she had been hurting in the past, she had always shut him out, and she was still doing so now. He'd hoped their marriage would change this habit of hibernation, but clearly it had not.

"It might make you feel better," he coaxed.

"I said I'm ok," Kathryn replied, sharper than she intended. "I just want to be alone."

Chakotay slowly withdrew his hand. "Then I'll return to the lounge. Celes has made a buffet and everyone's sharing their stories of New Earth. I hope you'll join us. Tuvok, Joe and Kiera are eager to see you."

Kathryn was a moment in answering. "Tell them I'll be along soon."

"Ok," Chakotay replied.

He then got to his feet and reluctantly left.

* * *

When Kathryn finally joined the reunion celebrations in the lounge, she was given a warm welcome cheer. The joyful greeting did much to lift her heavy heart, especially when she saw Tuvok, Joe and Kiera looking so well and happy amongst the group.

Joe stepped forward and held out his hand to his former Captain. "It's so good to see you," he said with a smile.

"You too," Kathryn replied, taking his hand and shaking it. "And to see you looking so well...all of you."

Tuvok spoke. "Whatever the reason for our abduction, we were well taken care of."

Kathryn turned to her old friend and smiled. "It's good to have you back, Commander."

"It's good to be back," he told her.

Kathryn then addressed Kiera. "You too, Ensign."

The young brunette smiled. "I'm glad to be here. I can't wait to get home and see my family. I've missed them so much."

Dieter approached. "I don't suppose we'll ever know why we were taken, will we? Or the purpose of that world?"

"No," Kathryn answered.

"I have some theories," Chakotay injected, "but I suppose we all do."

"What matters," Kathryn concluded, "is that we're out of there and on our way home."

Joe raised his glass of sparkling synthesol champagne. "I'll drink to that!"

"Let's all drink to that," Celes said.

"Amen," Kathryn smiled.

Celes handed her a glass of champagne and Kathryn raised it up. "To home!"

Everyone, except the Doctor, raised up a glass. "To home!"

* * *

"I can definitely see the Commander's visage in theirs," Tuvok commented as he looked at Chakotay two and three with Kathryn. "That is as much as it is possible to make out such a resemblance in a baby's face. All babies look alike."

"Oh, I can see the resemblance very clearly," Kathryn said, gazing in awe at the babies. "They have his nose and eyes, no question."

"It is most peculiar," Tuvok went on. "To clone a baby from an individual and then deliver that baby to that individual to be adopted."

"Very peculiar," Kathryn agreed. "But everything about these Collectors is peculiar."

"I can only conclude this was a way of increasing the population."

"Agreed. There weren't a lot of Bajorans on New Earth, at least not as far as I could see, or a lot of Native Americans. Maybe they wanted more so they cloned Celes and Chakotay. It would explain why the rest of us weren't cloned...well, except Justin, but that was almost twenty years ago. Who knows what was going on then. Warren was only a few years old when Justin died. Maybe there had been outbreaks of the disease that killed him on other worlds so _The Collectors_ were cloning more than usual."

"Possibly. There was an outbreak of a fatal disease on New Vulcan about twenty years ago. Thousands died."

"It must have been a disease they couldn't cure or control," Kathryn surmised. "And that makes me think they're not of Q's nature. Very advanced, perhaps, even a lot bigger than us, but not like Q. They could have other reasons for cloning, but I think to increase minority groups is the most likely explanation. If Tal Celes and Dieter had their own child, for example, it would only be half-Bajoran. The same would go for any child Chakotay had with someone of a different race. But by cloning, they would reproduce those minorities for the future." She turned away from the babies to look at Tuvok. "There's something I want to talk to you about," she said. "When I was on New Earth, I had a strange dream. I dreamt that we were linked in a mind-meld."

"It was no dream, Admiral," Tuvok told her. "It was real."

Before Kathryn could reply, the door opened and her father came in with Chakotay.

"Well," Tuvok said, "I will say goodnight, Admiral."

"Don't leave on our account, Tuvok," Chakotay said.

"On the contrary," Tuvok answered, "I leave on my account. Due to the time difference between New Vulcan and this vessel, I have not rested for many hours. I am weary."

Kathryn put her hand on his arm. "Then you better had say goodnight." She smiled warmly. "And I'm glad the mind-meld was real. I hoped."

"I'm glad we shared the experience. Goodnight, Admiral." He then turned to Edward and Chakotay. "And to you both."

"Goodnight," they said in unison.

Tuvok then left and Chakotay went over to baby number two. "If I say so myself," he teased, "I was a cute baby."

Kathryn laughed. "Less of the past tense."

Chakotay smiled at her and they locked eyes, all the previous tension between them gone.

"I remember when you were this size, Goldenbird," Edward said, looking down at baby number one. "You were the smallest baby I ever saw."

Kathryn turned to her father. "I have to ask you about Warren," she said seriously. "He was the spitting image of Justin. Was he delivered like Tamora?"

Her father was a moment in answering. "Yes."

"I see," Kathryn said quietly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to upset you. I knew it was a shock finding Warren the way you did and I didn't want to complicate your emotions further by telling you he wasn't Justin's son after all but his clone. We, Justin and I, figured he was because of a distinctive birthmark. I thought it was kinder to let you think he was Justin's son. When Tamora was delivered I didn't say anything because I had no way of knowing for sure if she was a clone. Not all babies delivered are. If she grew up to look like Celes then...well, they would come to the conclusion she was a clone by themselves." He paused sadly. "I'm sorry if you feel I've let you down."

"I would have liked the truth about Warren," she said. "It hurt to think he'd moved on so quickly after the accident. But I think I understand why you didn't tell me."

"I thought it was for the best. And I thought it would help you to move on if you thought Justin had. I'm sorry if I was wrong."

"Well," Kathryn said, "I know the truth now. That's all that matters." She paused. "I only met Warren briefly, but he seemed to think Justin was his biological father. Doesn't he know he is adopted?"

"No. There are two kinds of adoptions on New Earth, open and closed. Warren's was closed, meaning there would be no reference to his adoption in law. I guess that is done for clones and babies who are abducted. Open abductions are more like standard Federation adoptions. Warren thinks his mother was French and died of a rare disease when he was a baby. As there are no birth certificates on New Earth, for obvious reasons, he'll never know otherwise. I can't say I agreed with Justin's decision to conceal the truth, but I did understand it, and I had to respect it."

"Of course," Kathryn replied. "And Warren was lucky. I'm sure Justin was a great father."

"He was. And Warren was a great kid. You'd never know by his personality that he was a clone because he was very much his own person." Edward looked at the sleeping infants. "These babies will be too."

"Yes," Kathryn said, also looking at the babies. "That is if they are true clones and not some kind of sophisticated CBR. But even if they have artificial intelligence...some kind of program that develops over time by assimilation of knowledge and experience...then one could say they're no different to the Doctor. It would be morally wrong to destroy them."

"It's a long time since I was in Starfleet," Edward went on, "things have probably changed a lot, but I imagine there will be issues of paternity." He looked at Chakotay. "Even though you played no part in their creation, you will probably be considered their father. And if that is the case, it will be left to you to decide what becomes of them. You'll probably be asked if you want to raise them."

Kathryn turned to her husband. "Do you? Could you love them as sons?"

"I could," Chakotay answered sincerely. "But what about you? Children were not in our plans for the future."

Edward spoke instead. "I'll follow Tuvok's example and say goodnight. I think this is something you need to discuss alone."

"Ok," Kathryn said. "Goodnight."

Her father went over to her and kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, Kathryn." He then put his hand on Chakotay's shoulder. "Chakotay."

Chakotay said goodnight and Edward left.

"It's true," Kathryn said when they were alone, "that children were not in our plans, but these little ones are here now and they need a home. I can't say I know much about raising children, in fact not much at all, but these babies are a part of you and I think they belong with us." She paused. "I would like to keep them."

"So would I," Chakotay confessed.

Kathryn smiled. "Then looks like we've made our decision...Daddy."

Chakotay laughed softly. "Looks like we have." He then looked again at the babies. "We'll have to pick a name for them."

"Really?" Kathryn teased. "I thought we could call them Chakotay one and two forever."

Chakotay laughed again.

"How about we choose one each?" she suggested.

"Sounds good. Any ideas?"

"I've always rather liked Tyrian," she said, looking at baby one. "And I think it suits him."

"Me too. How about Darian for number two?"

"Perfect."

He smiled. "Then I guess Tyrian and Darian it is...Mommy."

Kathryn laughed now and then looked at Chakotay with heavy tired eyes. "Is that hug still on offer?"

"Always," Chakotay said, opening his arms.

Without another word, Kathryn gladly stepped into his warm, comforting, embrace.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTY ONE


	32. Chapter 32

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

TWO DAYS LATER

"Well," the Doctor said, approaching Kathryn as she piloted the ship alone, "it's been two days now and still no sign of Magic Man."

"I'm sure he'll turn up," Kathryn replied.

The Doctor sat beside her. "You've been in here all day. I recommend a break."

Kathryn held up an empty cup of coffee. "I've had one on the job."

"I didn't mean a coffee break, Admiral," he sighed. "I meant a proper break."

"Oh I'm fine. A replicator gives me all the nourishment I need. I can't afford to indulge myself. We don't want to run into that anomaly that killed my counterpart."

"Any sign of it?"

"Not yet, but I can't get complacent."

Suddenly, the doors opened and Chakotay came in. "Doctor," he said. "Just the person. Admiral Janeway...senior...isn't feeling too well."

Kathryn turned around at that. "What's the matter with him?"

"I'm not sure exactly. He just said he isn't feeling too good. I said I'd fetch the Doctor."

The Doctor got to his feet. "I'll go right to him. Is he in his room?"

"Yes."

With that, the Doctor obeyed the call of duty and left.

"He may be suffering from space-sickness," Kathryn said, returning to work. "It's a long time since he's been in space. He used to suffer from it quite badly when he was young."

"You're probably right," Chakotay agreed. He went over to his wife. "Have you had dinner?"

"Not yet."

"Neither have I. Join me?"

"As long as you don't mind eating in here. If that anomaly frequency shows up, I want to be here."

"I don't mind at all," Chakotay replied. "What would you like to eat? The replicator is very obliging."

"Whatever you're having."

"Lentil and vegetable rice topped with cheese?"

"Sounds good."

Chakotay went over to the replicator and replicated two servings. When they materialized, he carried them over to the helm. "What would you like to drink?"

"A mineral water," Kathryn smiled. "I'd better keep the Doctor happy."

"Coming up," he said, going to replicate two glasses of water.

"Hopefully we won't encounter that anomaly again," Kathryn said, relaxing into her chair and spinning away from the console. "I wonder what it was? There's absolutely nothing showing up on sensors."

"I wonder if it's connected to what happened to us," Chakotay surmised, bringing the drinks over. "What the Doctor says happened to him and your counterpart is very similar to what happened to us. One moment we were just cruising through space and the next total chaos."

He held out a glass to Kathryn, but for some reason the glass slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor.

"I'm sorry..." he apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Kathryn replied. "These things happen." She opened a silver compartment, picked up a little gadget, and began to vaporize the spilt water.

"You can have mine," Chakotay said, putting his down by her meal. "I'll replicate another."

* * *

"I was hungrier than I thought," Kathryn confessed, scraping clean her bowl. "In fact, I don't feel quite done yet. I think I'll have a slice of coffee-cake. Want one?"

"If you make mine chocolate," Chakotay smiled.

Kathryn got to her feet. "Chocolate cake it is."

Just as she was about to replicate dessert, the doors opened and the Doctor came in.

"How is my father?" she asked.

The Doctor made no reply and Kathryn could tell from the look on his face that something was seriously wrong.

"What is it? she asked anxiously.

The Doctor gestured to her seat. "I think you'd better sit, Admiral."

"I'm fine standing," she said. "Just spit it out."

The Doctor took a holographic breath. "Your father is dying."

Blood drained out of Kathryn's face. "Dying?"

"As is everyone else I've examined, except the clones."

"I...I don't understand," Kathryn said quietly.

"They're all suffering from universal cellular degeneration," the Doctor informed her. "Every biological system is slowly failing. Your father's conditions is the most advanced, perhaps because of his age, but the others are not far behind. As none of them had this condition when I examined them two days ago, it's clearly a recent development."

Kathryn desperately tried to absorb this. "But why? How?"

"Without a sickbay to perform extensive tests, it's impossible for me to give absolute answers, but it seems to me this condition is a result of medicinal withdrawal."

Kathryn got the gist of his words. "You think they were given medication on New Earth which prevented this degeneration?"

"Yes. Perhaps through water or food supply."

"I see," Kathryn said quietly. "Can you reverse this degeneration?"

" I'm afraid not," the Doctor told her. "I may be able to develop some kind of treatment, but at the moment all I can do is attempt to slow down the process." He looked at Kathryn sadly. "I'll need to examine you and the Commander too."

"Of course," Kathryn replied, her head spinning. "Do it now."

* * *

"I don't understand," Kathryn said, after the Doctor had examined her and Chakotay, "why I'm the only one who doesn't have this condition."

"It's too early to say that categorically," the Doctor replied, "you may yet develop it. But yes, it seems you are the only one unaffected."

"And why is that? You say medicine has most likely kept this condition under control on New Earth, but why do Chakotay and the others have this condition to begin with? There was nothing wrong with Chakotay on Voyager."

The Doctor hesitated with his reply. "When your father, Joe Carey and Kiera were taken by _The Collectors,_ they were dead. I can't comment on your father's case for obvious reasons, but there was nothing that could be done medically to revive Joe or Kiera. That is by our medical standards. _The Collectors_ are clearly a very advanced species and somehow were able to revive them, but the price of that revival may have been lifelong medication, medication that they would provide through a water or food supply."

Chakotay spoke. "That makes a lot of sense, Doctor. Of a lot of things. The last thing I remember before arriving on New Earth is losing control of the Delta Flyer. I think we all died."

A realization hit Kathryn. "Like my counterpart," she said. "You must have encountered the same anomaly that killed her."

Chakotay nodded.

The Doctor continued. "From everything I've heard about these Collectors, I very much doubt they are malevolent. On the contrary, I think they are doing their best to help less advanced races. While I can only theorize, I think that they have got themselves a situation that is somewhat of a devil and a deep blue sea. I think they created these worlds to put the dead of other races on, maybe because they have laws that prevent them from interfering directly in other cultures, but in trying to protect the world by cloaking it, unfortunate vessels get caught up in the cloak somehow and those on board die. They revive them, but as they can only keep them alive by medication, and perhaps by other means we don't know of, they put CBRs in their place."

"The anomaly you encountered was too far away from the world to be a cloaking shield," Kathryn replied, "but I guess it could have been a cloak of a ship or space-station. That would make sense of everything. And it would explain why I don't have the condition. I was taken alive."

"Exactly," the Doctor answered. "And you're in better health than ever. The medication, which you must have been exposed too aswell, must benefit everyone, not just those who need it for survival."

"But," Kathryn continued, "if they can do all these things...create worlds, create CBRs, make Seven human again, surely they could revive the dead without the need for medication?"

"Not necessarily," the Doctor went on. "They are clearly much more advanced than us, but even advanced civilizations have their limitations. Think of our own abilities. We can transport, replicate, produce holographic environments and warp space, but there are still diseases and conditions we can't cure. And think of our history. Four hundred years ago they could artificially impregnate women, but could not cure cancer."

"You're right," Kathryn conceded. "Just because they're advanced, doesn't mean they don't have limitations. To less developed races, it might seem like we can perform miracles, because to them what we can do is miraculous, but there is still so much we can't do. Maybe these Collectors are less medically advanced than they are technologically, but they do their best with their abilities to help the dead of other races."

"And we don't know if Seven's human physiology was fully restored," the Doctor added. "I never got a chance to examine her. It looked like her implants were gone, but it's impossible to say how much of that was cosmetic."

"The question now," Chakotay said, "is what happens now?"

"It seems to me there are only two options," the Doctor answered. "One, we go back to the Federation and hope a treatment can be found, or two..." He stopped, uncomfortable saying the words.

Kathryn prompted. "Two?"

"We turn around and take those affected back to those worlds. If a treatment can't be found, I'm afraid death is inevitable."

For a long while, Kathryn said nothing as she considered the dilemma. Then she spoke. "I don't think we have the right to make that decision for everyone. I think everyone needs to make that decision for themselves." She turned to Chakotay. "Do you agree?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Then that's what we'll do. We'll let everyone decide for themselves whether they want to go back or not." She paused. "Gather everyone together in the lounge."

"They're already there," the Doctor informed her.

"Then tell them I'll be through in a moment."

"Yes, Admiral."

With that, the Doctor left and Kathryn turned to Chakotay. She was pale and trembling slightly. "I so wasn't expecting this," she said quietly. "And we're so close to home..." Tears filled her eyes, but she suppressed them. "What's your inclination? Stay or go back?"

"I'll take my chances in the Federation," Chakotay told her, pain in his eyes too. "There's every chance a cure can be found."

Kathryn put her hand on his arm. "If you want to stay, I'll stay too. I meant what I said on New Earth. My home is where you are."

"We've come too far to give up now," Chakotay replied. "Besides, I wouldn't want you to give up everything for me."

"I was happy on New Earth," she said sincerely. "I could be again. Losing you would be losing everything."

Tears filled Chakotay's eyes and he put his hand to her cheek. "We can't give up, Kathryn. We're so close to home. I'll take my chances in the Federation."

Kathryn put her hand over his. "If that's really what you want to do."

"It is," he said firmly.

* * *

"We've all made our decision," Joe said when Kathryn and Chakotay arrived in the lounge. "We're staying. We're confident that back in the Federation a cure for whatever's wrong with us can be found."

The Doctor spoke. "I must remind you all that a cure is by no means a certainty. With the extent of degeneration occurring, and at the rate it is occurring, doctors will be racing against the clock."

"If need be," Joe answered, "we can be put in stasis until a cure's found."

"This is a courageous decision on all your parts," Kathryn said, "but I completely understand if you all want to go back. New Earth...and New Vulcan...have existed for generations. They will likely exist for many more. A good life can be lived there."

"We'd rather take our chances in the Federation," Dieter said.

"It's what we all want," Celes added.

Kathryn turned to Kiera. "Ensign?"

"Me too."

She then looked at her old Vulcan comrade. "Tuvok?"

"I too am resolved."

"As am I," her father said.

There was no one else to ask, it looked like the decision was made.

"Then looks like we have consensus," Kathryn said. "But if any one of you changes your mind, come right to me and we'll turn this ship around."

"We won't," Joe stated. "Home is where our families are, and ours are in the Federation."

Kathryn gave a wan smile. "Then it's homeward bound."

END OF CHAPTER THIRTY TWO


	33. Chapter 33

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

THREE DAYS LATER

Sitting at her father's bedside, Kathryn watched him sleep. It was hard to believe that only a few days ago he was the picture of health. Now he was a frail, sick old man. His health had deteriorated so much that he was confined to bed, and unless effective treatment was given soon, his prognosis was poor. Kiera was also now bed bound, and everyone else was struggling to stay active.

"I'll keep trying to reduce the rate of degeneration," the Doctor told her, "but without a sickbay, I'm afraid there's nothing more I can.do."

Kathryn made no reply, just looked at her father sadly.

"If he continues to degenerate at this rate, then he will be lucky to survive another two weeks."

Kathryn spoke now, but her voice was quiet. "We'll be home by then."

"If Abracadabra shows up," the Doctor said, somewhat sarcastically. "If not, then this is the voyage of the damned. Why isn't he here? It's been five days now. I don't understand, Admiral. I really don't."

"Neither do I," Kathryn confessed. "But he'll be here."

"But what if he isn't? What if he doesn't show up? What are we going to do then?"

"He will come," she said, not daring to think about the alternative. "He must."

* * *

Snuggled in Kathryn's arms, his tiny eyes closed, Darian eagerly gulped down his bottled milk. Tyrian, who had just been fed, was now back in his cot and sleeping soundly.

"You're a hungry fella, aren't you?" Kathryn said, tenderly stroking the baby's fluffy head. "And so you should be. You need to grow up strong like your Daddy."

A door chime rang and Kathryn called out. "Come in!"

The doors opened and Celes, supporting herself with a cane, came in. "I'd like to talk to you, Admiral," she said.

Kathryn gestured to a vacant bed. "Have a seat."

Celes slowly made her way over to the bed and sat down.

"We've changed our minds," she said quietly. "If it's still possible, Dieter and I would like to go back to New Earth."

"I see," Kathryn replied.

"We know we'll be there forever, but Dieter is getting so weak now he can hardly stand. We didn't think we'd get this sick when we said we'd stay. We thought we'd be back in the Federation by now and be cured. But Q still hasn't shown up and who knows when he will. Even if we get home tomorrow, it could still take months for doctors to find a cure. What will happen to Tamora then? We won't be able to raise her. We'll miss our families, but we're a family of our own now, and we have to do what is right for our family. We had a good life on New Earth, and it's better to have a good life there than be dead in the Federation." She paused. "But if it's too late, we understand."

"No," Kathryn answered. "It isn't too late. But I do believe Q will show up. Why he is taking so long, I don't know, but I do believe he'll come."

"I wish Dieter and I shared that faith," Celes said honestly. "It hasn't been an easy decision, but we have to make one based on what we know will happen if we don't go back, not on what might happen if we stay."

"I understand," Kathryn said sadly. "And I gave you my word that I'd turn this ship around if any of you want to go back, and I won't break that promise. Once I've finished feeding this little one, I'll reverse course."

Celes gave a smile of both gratitude and relief. "Thank you, Admiral."

* * *

After turning the ship around, Kathryn gathered Tuvok and Joe together in the lounge and told them of the Willis's decision.

"My resolve is unchanged," Tuvok said. "I would like to return to the Federation. However, I respect the Willis's decision. If Q does not help us, then death will occur. If my wife were onboard, and we were young with our first child, I would follow their course of action. It is the most logical in their situation."

Kathryn turned to Joe. "What about you, Joe? Have you changed your mind?"

"No," he replied. "But I think I was too hasty in dismissing the option of returning. I think I should consider staying. I would love to see my sons again, but the reality is I haven't been a part of their lives now for over seven years. My wife has married again since our divorce was finalized two years ago, and it may be better for everyone if I let sleeping dogs lie."

"I'm sure your sons would appreciate the chance to get to know you," Kathryn said.

"Perhaps, but they won't really have the chance to do so if I'm hospitalized or in stasis. I think I'd rather them remember me as I was. Because they do remember me, and those memories are good ones. In so many ways I'm living on borrowed time. If _The Collectors_ hadn't revived me, I'd be a floating coffin in space. And I think it might be better to accept life gratefully from those who have given it back to me, rather than risk losing it by striving for what I used to have."

Kathryn put her hand on his arm. "Think things over. We won't get there for a few days."

"Five, Admiral," Tuvok stated. "And it will take us another five to return here. That is a total of ten days. I must remind you of the severity of your father's condition. If we are in space for longer than ten days, he will almost certainly die."

"We don't have to return here for Q to help us," Kathryn replied. "Neither does he have to generate a wormhole to send us home. He could send us home anytime. Why he isn't helping us, I don't know, but I have to believe that he will." She paused. "But I understand the rest of you not being able to share that faith."

"I have grave doubts regarding Q's integrity and reliability," Tuvok admitted, "but for everyone's sake I hope he appears soon. Concerning myself, my decision is based solely on preference. I would rather die in the Federation with my family present than live without them on New Vulcan."

"My father is of the same mind," Kathryn told him. "But if there's anything I can do about it, no one is going to die."

"I wish I could be as noble as you, Commander," Joe said. "Given my brave declarations in fine health, I must appear so cowardly in the face of suffering."

"Not at all," Kathryn reassured him. "The Doctor telling us that you'd all get sick is one thing, experiencing that sickness is another. Experience, as they say, is a great educator. Not only can you look forward to years of life on New Earth, but that world has given you a second chance of life. Everyone would think carefully before throwing that chance away."

* * *

Chakotay was lying in a warm soapy bath when Kathryn returned to their room. He looked tired and drawn, a shell of his former self.

"How are you doing?" she asked, sitting on a stool beside him.

"I'm ok," he said. "The water's easing the tension in my legs. How's everyone else?"

"Celes and Dieter have decided to go back to New Earth."

"They have?"

"Yes. And Joe's considering it."

"I'm surprised. He was so adamant on staying."

"He was. But suffering, and seeing others suffer, has made him reconsider." She paused. "Tuvok and my father are still resolved to get home, though. I don't know about Kiera, but as she wants to be reunited with her family so much, I doubt she'll change her mind."

"You sound rather regretful."

"Maybe I am, " Kathryn admitted. "Maybe we should all go back. This wasn't how it was supposed to be, Chakotay. The Doctor and I came to rescue you, not to condemn you all to a death sentence. What if we're not meant to go home? What if we're meant to go back to New Earth?"

"It's not like you to fatalistic," Chakotay said, a little concerned.

"I know. But there's got to be a reason why Q hasn't shown up. Maybe it's because we're meant to go back."

"Perhaps," Chakotay considered. "But if so, why bother giving your counterpart all that rescue information?"

"I don't know. Maybe because the Doctor's meant to come with us or maybe so that we could all meet up."

"Or maybe because we're meant to get home."

"Maybe," she said quietly. "But I hate to see you all suffer like this. In some ways, I wish everyone would decide to go back. Then I wouldn't have to carry this burden. I can't help thinking that maybe I shouldn't have come looking for you. Then you'd all be well and happy on those worlds."

Chakotay reached out and took her hand in his. "I'm glad you did," he said sincerely. "Even if I was to die today, I wouldn't regret a moment of our time together. I'm so thankful for what we shared."

Tears filled Kathryn's eyes. "Me too."

"And while I can understand Celes and Dieter's decision," Chakotay continued, "there is a possibility that _The Collectors_ won't cure them. Not because they can't, but because they won't. They might know we've all been rescued."

"I doubt it," Kathryn replied. "They can't possibly keep tags on everyone. And, thankfully, you told Barbara that we could be rescued so she won't have alerted the authorities. I'm sure Celes and Dieter will be cured. All they have to do is plead ignorance...say they don't know what is wrong with them. The Doctor says the medicine supplied by water or food might go a long way to reverse degeneration by itself. He thinks it has regenerative properties. From what Seven said, it seems she no longer has to regenerate, and this may be partly why." She paused. "Going back is a certain life-ticket. It's staying to face the unknown that might be fatal."

Chakotay squeezed her hand. "Your decision is my decision. I don't want to be selfish by being unselfish."

"How do you mean?"

"I want what is best for you, but that might not be what I think. I don't want you to give up a future in the Federation for me, but neither do I want to leave you alone with responsibility for Tyrian and Darian. Whatever you want to do, I'll do. It doesn't matter to me whether we live on New Earth or the real Earth, so long as you're happy."

"Thank you," Kathryn said, forcing a smile. "And I feel the same." She paused. "But just what are we going to do? Tuvok wants to stay, my father wants to stay, Celes and Dieter want to go back...And then there's the Doctor to consider. What would happen to him if we all went back?"

"What is your heart telling you to do?"

"To stay," she answered. "To hold out for Q. I know that he's flippant, childish, annoying, discourteous and unpredictable, but I do think he's essentially a decent being. I don't think he'll let us down."

"Then follow your heart," Chakotay told her. "Do what your instinct is telling you."

"It seems I have no other choice," she said sadly. "I just hope my instinct is right."

END OF CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE


	34. Chapter 34

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

FIVE DAYS LATER

"We're almost within transporter range," Kathryn said to Chakotay as he lay barely conscious in their bed. "As soon as we are, the Doctor and I will begin transporting."

Chakotay made no reply, it was taking all his strength just to stay awake.

"We're all going back," she said, tears in her eyes. "I'm not going to let you die, Chakotay. I don't know why Q hasn't shown up, but I'm not going to gamble your life, my father's or Tuvok's on his dependability. Everyone now, except you and Tuvok, is in a coma and enough is enough. We'll have a good life on New Earth. You, me, Tyrian, Darian and my father."

She felt a slight pressure on her hand and she squeezed back.

"It's all arranged," she continued. "I'm going to help the Doctor transport everyone, and then he's going to transport me. He's not going to come with us. He's afraid _The Collectors_ won't regard him as a valid lifeform and will destroy him. He's going to fly on to Neelix's settlement and ask if he can stay." She paused. "I don't know how Kiera and Tuvok will feel about being back, but I have to make a decision that I feel is right."

The Doctor's voice suddenly sounded over the comm. "Doctor to Admiral Janeway."

Kathryn responded. "Go ahead."

"We are within transporter range."

"I'll be right there," she informed him.

As soon as the connection terminated, she released Chakotay's hand and got to her feet.

"We'll soon be home," she said, putting her hand to his cheek. "And we will be happy, I promise."

She then kissed his forehead and left.

* * *

When Tal Celes, Dieter, Tamora and Joe were safely transported back to New Earth, the Doctor turned away from his console and spoke to Kathryn.

"Are you sure about sending Kiera, Tuvok and your father back? I must remind you that it is against their wishes."

"There is no alternative," Kathryn answered. "I can't let them die."

"There is one," the Doctor said.

"And what's that?"

"Only you, Chakotay and the babies go back."

"No," Kathryn said adamantly. "My father would rather be with us on that planet than a corpse on this ship, and I dare say Kiera and Tuvok would rather live than die. They thought that if they were going to die, they were going to do so in the presence of their families, but that's not going to happen. Tuvok was content on New Vulcan, and Celes and I can help Keira build a good life for herself. She and Celes have always been good friends."

The Doctor was not entirely comfortable with her decision, but abided by it. "Shall I transport her to the Willis's apartment?"

Kathryn nodded. "Do it."

In less than a minute, the transport was complete.

"Now," he said, "your father."

"Transport him to Joe's apartment," Kathryn said. "His block is next to Skyrider. With them all being unconscious, I'm going to have to get them help as soon as possible. The closer we all are to each other, yet not so close it's overtly suspicious, the better."

"Preparing transport," the Doctor announced. "Energizing..."

A bleep unexpectedly sounded and the Doctor turned to Kathryn in alarm. "It's not working!"

Kathryn went over to him and was just about to perform a diagnostic when Q appeared directly before her.

"I'm disappointed, Kathy," he said. "How could you give up on me?"

Relieved at his appearance, but angry at his absence, Kathryn replied sharply. "How could you let us down? Do you have any idea what you've put us through?"

"Relax, Kathy," he answered, sitting on the Doctor's console. "Everything's under control."

"Under control?" the Doctor cried. "Seven people are dying thanks to you!"

Q leant forward, sticking his face right before the Doctor's. "But dying isn't dead." He then pulled away. "You lesser beings, so tense about everything. They'll be fine. They'll even thank me."

"And how do you work that out?" Kathryn asked.

"And do you have any idea how much suffering you've caused?" the Doctor added.

"Not me," Q answered innocently, "I didn't make them ill. You know why they're ill, your hollow-graphic brain's worked it out."

The Doctor got to his feet defiantly. "I do not take kindly to insult!"

"Me, insulting? Lighten up, Doc chops."

"Why now?" Kathryn asked. "Why have you come back now?"

"Isn't it obvious? Because it's time."

"If you mean to go home," the Doctor said. "We've already transported half our friends back."

Q shook his head. "Disappointed, Kathy. Very, very disappointed."

"Let me assure you," Kathryn replied, "the feeling's mutual. As the Doctor said, half our people are already back on that world."

Q stood up. "Haven't you worked it out yet, KJ? That's where they're supposed to be."

Kathryn's face paled. "How do you mean?"

"Oh come on, Kathy, think. Half of you here, half of you there..." He sat in the Doctor's seat and crossed his legs. "And wonderful me here on a chair."

The Doctor spoke. "Are you saying that you planned all along for Joe, Kiera and the Willis's to go back?"

Q leapt to his feet. "Bingo!"

"But why?" Kathryn asked. "Why them?"

"Because because," he said.

"What kind of answers that?" the Doctor cried.

"I thought a good one," Q smiled. "You all question things far too much."

"And I'm going to question more," Kathryn told him. "Give me one good reason why they must stay."

Q sighed. "If I must. Because they'll have a better life there. Is that one reason enough?"

"Say that's true," Kathryn continued. "Why have the Doctor beam them onboard? Why give them false hope of returning to their families?"

"They'd never have found each other otherwise."

The Doctor spoke. "What about Keira? She doesn't want to be there."

"No, not right now. But in three months time, she'll find her parents and sister. They were killed in a shuttle accident on Karanta Prime six months ago."

"I see," Kathryn said quietly, the reasons for Q's absence finally beginning to sink in.

The Doctor, however, was still unpacified. "That is if she lives for another three months. If the Admiral isn't there, who will get them all medical assistance? They're all unconscious."

"Not anymore," Q answered. "They're as right as rain." He paused. "Funny saying that, right as rain."

"Nevermind about rain," Kathryn replied. "Are you saying Celes and the others are ok?"

"Yes, they're ok. I've worked a little..." he turned to the Doctor "...abracadabra...and they're in perfect health...well, as perfect as anyone ever is on those worlds. Reviving the dead is tricky business."

"The Collectors," Kathryn said. "Do they know they were gone?"

"No-de-no. And thanks to some diddly-fiddley with their records, it's as though you, Tuvie and Chakotay one, two and three, were never there. Grumpy, your old-man, is down as a lontor...what you would call deceased. Mrs Charming, his housekeeper, will inherit his house and fortune, and she will give them to your Willis friends. And with the amount of children they have, they will need the house and the fortune."

"What about Joe?" the Doctor asked. "What wonders lie in wait for him that warrants keeping him from his sons?"

"Which sons?" Q said vaguely. "If he goes back to the Feddy, three sons will be without a father. And conventionally, if a human has no father, well, they can't exist."

Kathryn spoke. "I think what Q's trying to say, Doctor, is that Joe will have more sons on New Earth."

"Smarty, Kathy," Q beamed.

"But they don't exist yet," the Doctor continued. "His sons at home do."

"True, Doctor," Q answered. "but time is not a parallel line, you know. What is now makes what is then. Would you deprive a whole nation of a leader?"

"What's that to do with anything?"

"Everything, Med-Man. Carey's great, great, great, great granddaughter will be President of New America."

"I think, Doctor," Kathryn said, "that we have to trust Q's judgement on this. He can see what we never will." She turned to Q. "I admit, I thought you'd let us down. And I'm sorry for that."

"No worries," Q smiled. "Apology accepted."

"And I'm glad that Celes and Dieter will get my father's fortune," she continued. "We...my father and I...were going to draw up wills that would include them, but we never got round to it." She paused. "I'm only sorry that none of them will ever know what became of us."

Q clicked his fingers. "All sorted."

Kathryn raised her eyebrows. "How?"

"I've left the Willis's a note. They're reading it as we speak."

"What about Tuvok, Chakotay and Admiral Janeway senior?" the Doctor asked. "Are you going to help them?"

"Of course, Doccy. All in good time."

Kathryn stepped closer. "You said you were going to generate a wormhole to get us home, but we're way too close to that world."

"No problem," Q smiled. "Hold on to your hair, Janey. Alpha Quadrant, here we come!"

With that, he clicked his fingers and they all disappeared.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR


	35. Chapter 35

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

The next thing Kathryn knew, she was standing in a large room at Starfleet Headquarters' Sanatorium. The CBRs were lying unconscious on biobeds and three Admirals, which included Admiral Paris, were standing close by talking. Beside her was Q and the Doctor, and at her feet were Tyrian and Darian in blue and yellow baby carriers.

"Good day, Admirals," Q smiled.

The Admirals span around at the sound of his voice and their jaws dropped open.

"Don't I get a greeting? Humans. Never appreciative!" Q turned to Kathryn. "Welcome, Kathy, to briefing CXR. Your colleagues here have just gathered to discuss the fate of the CBRs."

Admiral Paris stepped forward and put his hand on Kathryn's arm. "Kathryn, it's good to see you. Welcome back. We've been worried about you. We haven't heard anything from you for eleven months."

Kathryn turned to Q. "Eleven months?" She'd only been gone four.

"Just a little temporal jump," he explained. "Had to get you to the right place at the right time, Janey. Don't worry, it'll add seven months to your life."

Admiral Paris then greeted the Doctor. "Welcome back, Doctor."

"Thank you," the Doctor smiled. "I'm glad to be back."

Admiral Lillian Shaw, an elderly woman with silver hair swept up in a bun, questioned. "What's going on?" She gestured to beds behind Kathryn. "Who are they?"

Kathryn turned around and saw her father, Chakotay and Tuvok lying as unconscious as the CBRs on biobeds.

"If I'm not mistaken," Admiral Paris said, going over to the first bed, "that's Admiral Edward Janeway."

"Correct," Q declared. "One out of three! If you can't guess, the other two are Commander Chakotay and Commander Tuvok. Or as I like to call them, Chuckles and Tuvie."

The third Admiral, Philip Marston, questioned."What is your father doing here? I thought he perished in a shuttle accident twenty years ago."

"He did," Kathryn answered. "It's a long story."

The Doctor spoke. "They need urgent medical attention. If they do not.."

"History," Q interrupted. "They're as fit as a fiddle. Well, at least they will be in a few days. Sleep does wonders!" He glanced at Kathryn. "Your father, however, will wake up in a few hours. All in good time!"

"I'm not going to pretend I know what has been going on," Admiral Shaw said, "but I'd sure like to be filled in."

"Happy to oblige, Lilly," Q smiled. "Kathy here, who I count a most dear friend, has been on a mission to find her missing comrades. Did she find them? Oh yes, thanks to me. And her father aswell. The nitty gritty, Kathy will tell you later. And before you ask, the others won't be back. They're better off where they are. And not just for their sakes."

Admiral Marston spoke. "Is that true, Admiral? That you have been on an unauthorized mission to find your comrades?"

"Yes," she answered. "But it was a personal mission, not a..."

Q interrupted. "Philly man, don't get ants in your pants! You should be thanking Kathy. Took some guts, you know, flying off into the unknown with only little me to depend on. And here she is, back with Tuvie, Chuckles, her father and two Chak brats."

Admiral Shaw addressed Kathryn. "Are those your babies, Admiral?"

"They're clones," Q said. "That's right. Mini Chaks. Ugh, I know. As if one isn't enough!"

"Are you sure they're clones and not miniature CBRs?"

"Me? Unsure about anything? They're clones, silly Lilly. One hundred percent clones."

Kathryn spoke. "If this is a meeting to discuss the fate of the CBRs, where's Admiral Lorton? He's supposed to be in charge."

"He's been called away on urgent business," Admiral Shaw told her. "I am now in charge. And I must be honest in saying my priority, unlike his, is in getting these bio-robots destroyed. The sooner they are, the safer the Federation will be."

Admiral Marston protested. "I totally disagree. I don't think it's right to destroy the CBRs. I know they're not sentient, but they're still living, breathing, bleeding beings. I think it would be morally wrong to destroy them."

"That's ridiculous," Lillian argued. "Would you say it's wrong to destroy a character in a holo-novel?"

Q sighed. "Little people, little quarrels! Why do you think deactivation or reactivation is the only solution? Little people, little minds!"

He clicked his fingers and the CBRs turned into ribbons of rainbow lights that floated through the air, joined in a whirlwind, and descended on a biobed. The lights then began to form a shape and in seconds a large dog appeared on the table. The animal's thick shabby coat of white fur was adorned with patches of brown, black and gold, and he had tall pointed brown ears. A turf of black fur graced the top of his head and his big bright eyes were different colors. His right was brown, his left was blue. Around his blue eye was a silver patch of fur, and another graced his left paw.

"Let me introduce you all to Robo-Dog," Q smiled. "The smartest and most loyal dog in the galaxy." He turned to Kathryn. "Consider him a late wedding present."

The dog woofed, leapt off the bed and jumped up on Kathryn, almost knocking her over.

"No more CBR problem," Q beamed.

Admiral Shaw questioned. "Wedding present? Who is married?"

"Kathy and Chuckles," Q announced. "I know, what a waste."

The Doctor questioned now. "What about the Admiral's CBR?"

"Never existed," Q smiled. "But I gotcha!"

Kathryn looked up from the adoring dog. "How do you mean never existed?"

"Because you, Kathy, were never taken by _The Collectors_. Would I let you be? Come on, give me some credit! I just worked some razzmatazz. As you needed to be on New Earth," he glanced at the Doctor, "and this clod would never have been able to crack my code, I simply duplicated you, did some fiddley diddley with records, and hey presto, you're in two places at once."

"Where is she now?" The Doctor asked.

"Gone," Q said. "Easy as pie." He glanced at Kathryn. "Well, maybe I should say as easy as quantum mechanics to you. And don't worry about your ship, it's perfectly parked in your lot." He then turned to the Admirals. "Aren't I a genius? All your problems solvey-dolvied!" He smiled at Admiral Shaw. "And don't worry, Lilly. Robo-dog is no threat to the Federation. You can sleep well at night."

"Our problems are not all-solved," Lillian answered. "So you've turned the CBRs into a harmless dog. Ok. So you've brought Admiral Janeway and her party home. Ok. But we are still left with a host of problems. How are we going to explain to the public that Admiral Janeway Senior has returned from the dead? How can we announce that Commander Chakotay has awoken from an eleven month coma when he has new-born babies? And if he and the Admiral are married, how can we possibly recognize the marriage when both parties are supposed to have been apart for the past year?"

Q put his hand on the woman's shoulder. "So stressed. Hasn't anyone ever told you it's bad for your blood pressure? Philly has the first answer."

Admiral Marston raised an eyebrow. "I do? I can barely recall the question."

"Then let me remind you," Q said. "How are we going to explain to the public that Admiral Janeway Senior has returned from the dead?"

Admiral Marston considered. "It could be said that Admiral Janeway Junior, after receiving a tip that her father was not killed on Tau Ceti Prime as she believed, but taken prisoner by enemies of the Federation, has spent the past few months in a classified operation to find him."

"Well done, " Q smiled, patting him on the shoulder.

"Works for me," Admiral Paris said.

"But if we go with that," Lillian questioned, "how can we then say she's given birth to these clones? We've worked hard to keep this case classified. I'm not willing to jeopardize everything by announcing that unknown aliens have cloned Commander Chakotay. Do you have any idea how much public interrogation and alarm there would be? Neither would it be in the interest of these babies for it to be publicly known that they are clones."

"Oh," Q said dismissively. "That's so easy." He clicked his fingers and the babies disappeared.

Kathryn looked at Q anxiously. "Where have they gone?"

"To stardate 57104.2," Q told her, "twelve months in the future. In a year's time you'll find them under a rock on Horanix Prime." He turned to Admiral Shaw. "You wish to send a small group of explorers there in a few months to collect data on ancient alien ruins." He gestured to Kathryn, sleeping Chakotay and the Doctor. "You're looking at your team." He then turned to Kathryn. "When you get back with the babies, everyone will assume they're yours. Their medical details will be confidential and no one will bat an eyelid when they grow up to look like Chuckles. It's not uncommon for human children to be a chip off the old block." He beamed. "So wham bam! Baby problem solved."

"That still leaves the problem of the marriage," Admiral Shaw declared.

"You don't give up, do you? So, the marriage can't be recognized. Easy! Have another wedding! Humans, so stupid!"

"Looks like everything's covered," Admiral Paris said.

"Certainly does," Admiral Marston agreed.

Kathryn turned to Q. "I can't thank you enough for all your help."

"No need to thank me," he smiled. "Do I ever help anyone if there's nothing in it for me? Consider it all advance payment."

"For what?"

"You'll see. But I'll give you a clue. My twins, your twins, oh what a party! Now I must dash! The Dragon calls. Bye-de-bye!"

With that, he disappeared.

"Well," Admiral Paris said, "looks like our meeting has happy closure."

"Yes," Admiral Marston replied. "And I'd also like to say welcome home, Admiral, Doctor."

"Thank you," Kathryn smiled. "After what I've been through, it's no less than a miracle."

Admiral Shaw addressed her. "I must insist that you...and this dog...be examined by Dr Loraska...just to be sure you are who you seem."

"Of course," Kathryn answered.

"And once you've been examined, I'd like both you and the Doctor to write a detailed report about the events of the past few months. Please write as honestly as you can. Although the information will be classified, it still needs to be truthful. In fact, I'd say it's more imperative that the information is as detailed and accurate as possible when a case is classified."

"Agreed. We'll write our reports as soon as possible."

"Thank you." The stern woman then let down her shields and smiled warmly. "And welcome home."

* * *

"He's adorable," Neelix said, looking at Robo-dog as he spoke to Kathryn over the comm that afternoon. "I can definitely see Seven in his eyes...well, the left at least...and Tuvok in his ears. What will you call him?"

"I think Robo," Kathryn smiled. "It's as good a name as any."

"It certainly is. And I have to say again, Admiral, how glad I am you're home. I've been so worried. I've heard nothing from you since you left here."

"Actually," Kathryn told him, "it wasn't me. It was my...counterpart."

A sadness filled Neelix's eyes. "I see," he said quietly. "Then she was a CBR after all."

"Not exactly. She was my double, courtesy of Q."

"What's happened to her?"

"She died, on the way to rescue us from the Collectors' World. She and the Doctor encountered an anomaly, we think the cloak of a ship or space-station, and she was killed. It's fortunate that the Doctor was on-board as no humanoid appears to survive the encounter. The Doctor managed to get the ship free and back on course."

"Quite a hero," Neelix smiled.

"Quite," Kathryn replied. "If it wasn't for him, none of us would be here today."

"Or without your counterpart. She worked night and day to crack Q's code. Why he had to make it so hard for her, I will never understand."

"He had his reasons," Kathryn answered. She suspected Tyrian and Darian were one. The Doctor was of the opinion that they'd been transported from an artificial womb. Had they been transported weeks earlier, they would not have survived. The same was true for Tamora. And thinking of babies, another one came to mind.

"I believe congratulations are in order," she said. "I believe you are now a proud father."

"I am," he smiled. "And I'm so happy, Admiral. Little Rinny's an angel. A true delight. And she's the image of my mother. You wouldn't believe! They have the same eyes and nose. But she definitely has my chin and Dexa's mouth." He paused. "We called her Kathryn after you...Rinny for short. Your counterpart said we could. Do you mind?"

"Mind?" Kathryn said in surprise. "I'm deeply honored."

"That's what she said."

"Because she and I were one and the same. No difference. And I'm grateful that you helped her and the Doctor out. Thank you."

"I was glad to have them here. I only wish it was possibly to have you all visit again."

"Well, maybe one day we'll find a gateway to the Delta Quadrant," Kathryn said encouragingly. "Then you'll have trouble keeping us away."

"I hope so," he said sincerely.

"Do you have your little angel with you? I'd love to see her."

"Not today. But if you're around tomorrow, you can see her then."

"I can't wait."

"And when your father has recovered, you'll have to introduce me to him. I'd love to meet Admiral Janeway Senior."

Kathryn smiled. "And I'd love to introduce you to him."

"Must have been a shock for you," Neelix said sympathetically, "finding out he was alive after all these years...in a good way, I mean."

"It was," Kathryn replied.

"For your mother and sister too."

"Yes. They're with him now, waiting for him to wake up. I've pretty much had his undivided attention for the past few weeks. It's their time now."

Bleeps suddenly sounded, informing them that the connection was about to close.

"Looks like our time is up," Kathryn said. "I must remind you that everything I've told you is classified. This is still a classified case."

"I understand. You can count on me."

"I know I can. And I'd like your permission to include all you've written on _The Collectors_ in our case files."

"By all means," he smiled. "I'd be..."

But before he could finish, the connection terminated.

Faced only with a blank screen, Kathryn turned off her monitor. Next to it was a pile of personal belongings she'd brought from the ship, and amongst them was the watch Chakotay had given her on Voyager. Carefully, she picked it up and opened the cover. The clock was ticking, its heartbeat strong. On the back of the clock was an inscription: 'You can achieve your dream if you believe.' Kathryn tenderly ran her fingers over the words. In her life there had been many dreams. Some she had lived, some she had lost. But there was only one dream in her heart now, and that was to be with Chakotay. It had always seemed an impossible dream, a love that was not meant to be. Every time a future together seemed possible, an obstacle kept them apart. Was the time finally right for them? Or was time always going to be against them? They had been so happy on New Earth, and even amidst the turmoil of the past week, they had looked forward to being a family with Tyrian and Darian. Now Tyrian and Darian were gone, their marriage could never be recognized in law, and the rings they had exchange with love were now in a sealed box. Could they ever again have what they did on that surreal world? Only time would tell.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE


	36. Chapter 36

_Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures_

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

SIX DAYS LATER

In a sunny room, decorated with cards and flowers, Kathryn sat reading in a chair while she waited for Chakotay to wake up. It was only a matter of hours now as Tuvok had already regained consciousness.

When at last Chakotay stirred, Kathryn put down her book and went over to him.

"Welcome back," she said, taking his hand as his eyes found hers.

Chakotay smiled at the all too familiar experience. "Deja vu."

"Yes," Kathryn laughed, remembering his car accident in New Sweden, "this is becoming too much of a habit."

Chakotay looked briefly towards the window. "Are we on New Earth?"

"No," she told him. "The real Earth."

The words surprised him. "We are?"

Kathryn nodded. "Q came through for us."

"About time," he teased. "But I don't remember getting here. The last thing I remember is you saying we were all going back to New Earth. Have I been in a coma?"

"No, you've been asleep."

Chakotay sat up, speaking as he did. "I feel better," he said, "like my old self. Am I being treated?"

"Just monitored. Q's healed you."

"He has?"

Kathryn nodded and her eyes moistened. "You're going to be just fine."

Chakotay smiled, visibly relieved, and took her hand in his. "I've never been afraid to die," he said, "but for the first time in my life I care more for living than I don't care about dying."

Kathryn squeezed his hand. "Same here."

"And I never thought I'd have reason to be grateful to Q. Looks like I owe him."

"Actually," Kathryn smiled, "he's holding me payable. And, believe me, he's going to call in the debt. But right now, none of that matters. We're home, Chakotay. At long last, we're home."

Chakotay extended his arm to her and Kathryn embraced him.

When eventually they drew away, Chakotay spoke. "How are the others?"

"My father's just fine," Kathryn replied, "and is in Bloomington with my mother and sister. As our case is still classified, the public story is that I've been searching for him after receiving a tip that he wasn't killed during our shuttle crash but abducted by enemies of the Federation. Everyone is assuming Cardassians, and that will neither be confirmed or denied."

"Good cover."

"Tuvok woke up three hours ago and his family are with him." She paused and hesitated with the next words. "But we're not all home, Chakotay. The Willis's, Joe and Kiera are back on New Earth. Q came just after we'd transported them back. He says the reason he didn't show up earlier was because he planned for them all to return. He says it's for the best, and we can only trust his judgment."

"I'll miss them," Chakotay said sincerely, "especially Celes and Dieter. They became good friends."

"I will too."

"What about Tyrian and Darian? What's the public story with them?"

"None as yet," Kathryn said cautiously. "Q's sent them to the future. Apparently we'll find them on Horanix Prime in a year's time while exploring ancient ruins."

Sadness filled Chakotay's eyes and he was silent for a moment. "Do you think we will...find them? I know they haven't been part of our lives long, but I've grown to love them."

"So have I," Kathryn confessed. "And I'm sure we will...I hope we will." She paused. "There's something else you should know. Because our case is classified, the public story will be that while Seven, Celes and Dieter have died, you and Tuvok have woken up from months in a coma. Because we're supposed to have been apart for the past year, our marriage can never be recognized."

"I see," Chakotay said quietly.

Kathryn squeezed his hand. "But that doesn't mean we can't get married again."

Chakotay reached out and put his hand to her cheek. "I couldn't mean my vows any more a second time. As far as I'm concerned, we are married."

Kathryn made no reply. While a second wedding could never be more special than the first, she wanted to be married in law. She wanted the world to know she was his wife, wanted the world to know he was her husband, and she wanted them to wear with pride their symbolic rings.

"But if you want to marry again," Chakotay continued, "I'm happy too."

"No," Kathryn said, not wanting to take him down a road he seemed reluctant to travel. "You're right. We don't need another wedding. We are married...if not in law, then in our hearts."

Their hands linked again and Chakotay questioned. "What's happened to the CBRs?"

Kathryn had to smile at that. "You'll have to wait and see."

* * *

A WEEK LATER

Beneath a blue sky, Robo ran happily around the grounds of Kathryn's gothic mansion while his mistress watched from a balcony. Chakotay watched with her and they laughed as he chased away a roaming cat.

"Good guard dog," Chakotay said. "Must be the Tuvok in him."

"Must be," Kathryn smiled.

"I wonder what part of him is me? Clearly not the ears."

"Got to be the legs and shoulders. They're strong and sturdy, just like yours. And I think there's something of you in his right eye. His tail is Dieter, though. Same shade of hair exactly."

Chakotay laughed softly.

"So," Kathryn asked. "What do you think of the house?"

"Very...colorful," Chakotay teased.

In Kathryn's absence, her sister, Phoebe, had taken over renovations and had been overly generous with bold paint.

"As I warned you," Kathryn laughed. "But now I'm back, I'm going to completely re-decorate. I want to capture the spirit of the house in the decor and furnishings...want to bring history alive." She paused. "That is if you like the house. I only had myself to consider when I got it. But now we're together, I want a house we can both feel is a home."

"I love the house," Chakotay replied. "It's got character and soul, and I like that." He smiled. "And I can see how much you love this house. That alone would be enough to make me love it. Your home is my home."

Kathryn smiled in return and raised her lips to his in a tender kiss. Chakotay kissed her in return and then they gazed into each others eyes until Kathryn sadly averted hers.

"What's wrong?" Chakotay asked kindly.

"Nothing," she answered. "I just...I should be perfectly happy, but I'm not. I know we decided not to have another wedding, that we'll always be married in our hearts, but I'd like one. I'd like to be able to call myself your wife again."

"I've been feeling the same way," Chakotay admitted.

"You have?"

He nodded and reached into his jacket. "In fact, I was going to give you this over dinner."

From a deep inner pocket, he pulled out a small white velvet box. Kathryn took it eagerly and carefully opened the lid. Inside, nestled in red velvet, was the diamond engagement ring Chakotay had given her on New Earth.

"Oh Chakotay..." she said, reverently touching the sparkling diamond.

"Kathryn Martha Janeway," he said, "will you marry me...again?"

"Yes," Kathryn said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Chakotay wrapped his arms around her in return and they held each other joyfully.

* * *

THREE MONTHS LATER

Beneath a beautiful arch of roses in Voyager's elegantly decorated mess hall, Kathryn and Chakotay repeated their wedding vows before family and friends. Many members of Voyager's crew were present and Naomi Wildman was the proud bridesmaid in a gown of blue satin. When at last the registrar pronounced the former captain and first officer husband and wife, the crowd broke into tumultuous applause, and the happy couple sealed their second union with a kiss.

"Congratulations," Kathryn's father said when they drew apart. "Again."

Kathryn laughed and embraced him. "Thank you, Daddy." She then embraced her mother, sister and Chakotay's sister, Sekaya, who had traveled all the way from Trebus.

"The bouquet," B'Elanna urged. "Let's see who'll be next..."

Kathryn gladly obliged and threw her pretty bouquet to the crowd.

The Doctor caught it, to great amusement.

"Looks like the Doc's hiding something from us," Tom teased.

"Perhaps," Chakotay smiled.

"And congratulations," Tom continued. "Both of you. I'd say about time, but B'Elanna might kill me."

"It's too bad you're leaving next month for Horanix Prime," B'Elanna said, ignoring her husband's remark. "Tom and I are going skiing in Switzerland in the New Year and it would have been awesome to have you join us."

"Maybe next New Year," Kathryn smiled. Even if they were not leaving soon, she'd seen enough snow and ice for one year.

"If you're able to ski," Tom jested. "You never know, the stork might come calling."

At those words, Kathryn glanced at Chakotay and they couldn't help but giggle.

"What is it?" Tom asked. "What have I said?" Then an answer occurred to him. "That's it...you're pregnant already."

B'Elanna whacked Tom on the arm. "Keep your voice down!"

Fortunately, amongst the chatter of the crowd, Tom's words went unnoticed.

"Well," he continued, "Are you?"

Kathryn smiled. "Let's just say there may be a special delivery in a few months time."

"I knew it," Tom cried. "Congratulations."

"And from me," B'Elanna added. "And don't worry, your secret is our secret."

Tom turned to Chakotay. "Better watch out, Chakotay. You know what they say...past forty-two, more chance of two."

Before Kathryn had a chance to respond, Tuvok and his wife approached. "Congratulations on your union, Admiral, Commander."

"Thank you," Kathryn smiled. "I'm so glad you're here."

Suddenly, the sound of silver on glass cut through the air and Reg Barclay spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen. May I...have your attention...please. Ladies and Gentlemen..."

The crowd duly fell silent and Reg addressed them.

"We now have a...very special surprise...for the...bride and groom." He then waved his hand at Harry and the now Lieutenant began to play his clarinet. Seconds later, a screen illuminated on a wall and Neelix appeared with Dexa, Brax and Rinny in his arms.

"Congratulations," Neelix beamed. "We are so excited for you both. We wish we could be there in person to celebrate with you all, but don't worry, we'll be having our own celebration right here. And in case you're wondering, we're not really here. I mean, this message is pre-recorded. And though we're thousands of light years away, we've sent you a little something special from the Delta Quadrant. Many, many, congratulations to two of our favorite people. Sending you all our love and best wishes..." Dexa and Brax joined in now, "Neelix, Dexa, Brax and Rinny."

With that, the screen faded.

"And here it is," Reg said, "Neelix's gift."

Harry began to play his clarinet again and the Delaney sisters entered the mess hall pushing a magnificent five tier silver wedding cake upon a gleaming golden trolley.

"Took some...engineering," Reg announced, "but, in tiers, it arrived safe and sound. Ladies and gentlemen...the wedding cake!"

The crowd clapped and cheered and Kathryn turned to her mother. "Now I know why you wanted to take charge of the cake."

Her mother winked. "And I told you it'd be special."

"Very special," Kathryn smiled.

Tom addressed the crowd now. "Who wants to see the bride and groom cut the cake?"

Everyone cheered and Tom turned to the happy couple. "You're in demand."

Arm in arm, Kathryn and Chakotay went over to the cake and Meg Delaney handed them a long knife.

The Doctor, who was in charge of taking photos, got himself into position.

"On the count of three," the Doctor cried. "One...two...three..."

Hand over hand, Kathryn and Chakotay plunged the shiny knife into the sparkling cake and the crowd cheered.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTY SIX


	37. Epilogue

Star Trek Voyager characters are the property of Paramount Pictures

EPILOGUE

Stardate 57104.2

Standing before a gushing waterfall that glowed crimson in a setting sun, Kathryn studied her tricorder, waiting and hoping for two precious lifesigns to appear.

"The Doctor's performing a planet wide search," Chakotay said, emerging from their shelter, "just incase we have the wrong place."

"It is the right place," Kathryn answered, turning to her husband. "I'm sure of it. There's no reason for Q to have sent them further afield when we're alone on this world. He said we'd find them under a rock and there's plenty of rocks around here."

Suddenly, Robo began to bark in the distance and his bark grew louder as he emerged from tall black rocks and ran over to Kathryn. Desperately, he tried to communicate something, and then ran back the way he'd come.

Kathryn glanced at her tricorder and her heart skipped a beat. "They're here," she smiled.

"Who needs a tricorder," Chakotay teased, "when we have Robo."

As quickly as they could, they followed Robo into the rocks and there, sleeping soundly in their baby carriers, were Tyrian and Darian.

"Just as I remember them," Kathryn said, happy tears in her eyes. "Exactly the same."

Robo was sitting proudly beside them and Chakotay ruffled his ear. "Well done, Robo."

Kathryn knelt before Tyrian and Darian and gazed at them joyfully. "Welcome to the future."

She and Chakotay then picked the babies up and, with Robo in pursuit, carried them to their shelter.

THE END


End file.
